Posts
Global government spending on AIDS declined during the past two years amid the economic crises, but a 9.7 percent drop in 2010 is largely tied to tougher US congressional disbursement criteria, Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS reported on Monday.
The United States, the world’s largest AIDS funder, disbursed slightly more than $3.7 billion last year, about $700 million less than in 2009, while six of 15 other donor governments surveyed also gave less in 2010, the joint report found. The $6.9 billion in total government donations in 2010 was down from $7.6 billion in 2009, it said.
“That’s money that didn’t go into the field,” said Jennifer Kates, Kaiser’s director of global health policy and HIV.
The spending cuts come just as scientists are reporting prevention advancements that, if implemented, could cut new infections on a global scale.
The US funding dip “should really be a one-time occurrence” tied to negotiating new agreements, said Jennifer Peterson, a spokesperson for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. In 2008, Congress mandated five-year objectives for recipients, a process that slowed the release of about $500 million last year, Peterson said. Another $71 million of the $1.05 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria awaits a review of operating expenses, staff salaries and other criteria, she said.
Though “the era of exponential increases is over,” Kates said the difference in global AIDS funding between 2008 and 2009 was negligible, while the US contribution declined by only $28 million from fiscal year 2010 to FY2011.
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.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
