Global Fight Against AIDS Falters as Pledges Fail to Reach Goal of $13 Billion

On Tuesday, 40 countries attending a replenishment conference at the UN pledged $11.7 billion for the next three years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. This amount falls short of the $13 billion the fund needs just to sustain current rates of treating AIDS patients. To raise treatment rates commensurate with the epidemic's growth, $20 billion would be needed.

No one now receiving antiretroviral therapy will be cut off, but treatment targets for 2010-13 must be lowered, said Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, the fund's executive director. The fund had wanted to boost the number of patients in poor nations receiving ARVs from almost 3 million currently to 5 million or more. With the pledges now in, 4 million might be achievable by 2013. About 14 million people with HIV are in need of ARVs under World Health Organization treatment guidelines.

The United States' pledge of $4 billion is nearly a 40 percent increase over its prior support. Most other countries raised their contributions by less. Japan raised its donation by 28 percent, while France, Canada, and Norway boosted theirs by 20 percent. Russia and China respectively pledged $60 million and $14 million, much less than fund officials had hoped.

By US law, the United States' contribution cannot exceed one-third of the Global Fund's budget.

The Obama administration's debate about how much to pledge was "robust" up until Tuesday morning, said Dr. Eric Goosby, US global AIDS coordinator. Noting the weak economy and one-year US budget cycle, making a three-year commitment was "swimming upstream," he added.

However, by not announcing its decision earlier, the 40 percent US increase could not be used to encourage similar pledges from other countries, said Dr. Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance. GAA had pushed for a $6 billion US pledge. "This took the other donors off the hook," he said. "Everyone could aim low."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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