AIDS Funding

AIDS Funding

Olayinka Jegede-Ekpe, Nigerian HIV activist © unknown / Prerana (Associate CEDPA)

Spending on HIV and AIDS in low and middle income countries has increased exponentially, rising from $260 million in 1996 to $13.7 billion in 2008. The largest single source is the US government which has approved 6-year funding totalling over $45 billion from 2009 channelled through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Over half of all AIDS treatment is funded by the multilateral agency, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria, established in 2002 to "attract and disburse additional funds."

Considering that the entire 2008 foreign aid budget for global development was less than $90 billion, it is clear that the AIDS lobby aspires to a generous slice of the funding cake. This expectation arises in the context of the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS on a country's social and economic fabric.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the loss of teachers, health workers and even MPs has disrupted the functioning of public life and undermined poverty reduction plans; life expectancy has fallen below 50 years. AIDS is the world’s leading cause of mortality of women of reproductive age.

The colder analysis of commerce conveys the same message of economic expediency. The World Bank has estimated that HIV prevalence of 8% knocks 1% off a country's annual rate of economic growth. In Zambia business research has valued the loss of an experienced worker at $9,000 whilst an HIV prevention programme costs just $47 per employee. Major companies throughout southern Africa have invested in AIDS-related services for staff and local communities.