US Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS

[buginme2]

Not sure which category to post this.  I thought it was interesting. 

Here is a detailed outline of US funding for HIV/AIDS care, research, prevention etc.

for 2014 it is estimated the US will spend $29.7 billion for combined domestic and global HIV/AIDS activities.

http://kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/u-s-federal-funding-for-hivaids-the-presidents-fy-2014-budget-request/

[Miss Philicia]

I don't want to be a h8tr, but I know as of 2010 the US provided 54% for global efforts. Other countries need to step up -- add the populations of the EU and Japan and that is twice the population of the US. The US should be providing more like 33% and those other entities need to increase their participation. Then the US could shift needed funding to domestic HIV/AIDS and no longer have shenanigan waiting list drama, for which we are in turn made fun of by EU members.

And mind you, that's just a pack-of-the-napking calculation of advanced economies. There are developing countries that can afford to kick in some token amounts. (*cough* China)

[mecch]

so true.

[buginme2]

I remember hearing once that if the Gates Foundation was considered a country it would be #3 (or maybe it was #2) in the amount of money given in the global fight against HIV.  They give about $2.5 billion if I recall.

The point was to show how great it is that this private organization gives so much to fight HIV.  It also shows that there are a lot of countries, a lot of RICH European, Asian, and Australian countries who really do not pony up what they should be if a private organization is giving more than most large economies do. 

It puts into perspective how many times people criticize the US not realizing that what they are receiving has been subsidized by.....

[Ann]

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/mediacenter/newsreleases/2013-09-23_UK_Commits_GBP_1_Billion_to_the_Global_Fund/

"UK Commits £1 Billion to the Global Fund

23 September 2013

NEW YORK - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today congratulated the United Kingdom for demonstrating strong leadership in global health with a major contribution to the Global Fund for the next three years.

Justine Greening, the UK's Secretary of State for International Development, announced that the UK will contribute £1 Billion (US$1.6 billion) to the Global Fund for the 2014-2016 period, or £333 million ($US533 million) per year, the second-largest pledge by any government so far. The United States has requested US$1.65 billion per year for the Global Fund in its 2014 budget.

Dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Chair of the Board of the Global Fund, cited the extraordinary leadership and generosity of the United Kingdom and thanked Prime Minister David Cameron for his long-term vision and Secretary Greening for her unwavering support.

"This commitment will underlie a transformative step forward for the Global Fund and partners in their ‎fight to defeat AIDS, TB and malaria," said Dr. Mboi. "The UK gives us all an inspiring model of responsible global citizenship."

The UK commitment is geared toward encouraging other donors to maximize their own pledges to the Global Fund, effectively unlocking additional funds with each contribution, as the UK contribution is limited to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total raised for the Global Fund.

The Department for International Development, which leads the UK's efforts to end extreme poverty, has championed the cause of helping to halve malaria deaths in 10 of the worst affected countries by 2015. It has also been a strong advocate of the launch this year of a new funding model that allows the Global Fund to invest more strategically, achieve greater impact and engage partners more effectively.

The UK has targeted saving the lives of 50,000 women in pregnancy and childbirth and 250,000 newborn babies as well as helping to immunize more than 55 million children against preventable diseases. Allowing at least 10 million more women to use modern methods of family planning by 2015 is also a priority.

The announcement, made in New York just before the start of the United Nations General Assembly, followed a pledge earlier this month by Nordic countries, including Sweden and Norway, of US$750 million for the 2014-16 period, representing an increase of US$150 million.

The Global Fund is convening a once-every-three years pledging conference, known as the Global Fund's Fourth Replenishment, in late 2013. It has set a goal of raising US$15 billion so that it can effectively support countries in fighting these three infectious diseases in the 2014-2016 period.

###

For more information please contact:

SETH FAISON
Director of Communications
Mobile: +41 79 788 1163
E-mail: seth.faison@theglobalfund.org

FYI;FWIW:
US population = 313.9 million (2012)
UK population = 63.23 million (2012)

[Ann]

"When viewed as a share of national economies, Denmark provided the highest amount of resources for HIV in 2012, followed by the U.K, Sweden, the U.S., and Ireland."

http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2013/september/20130923prfinancing/

"Kaiser/UNAIDS study finds no real change in donor funding for HIV

Donor disbursements in 2012 totalled US$ 7.86 billion

GENEVA/Washington D.C., 23 September 2013––As world leaders prepare to meet to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) evaluates international efforts to finance the response to the AIDS epidemic. The annual funding analysis finds donor governments disbursed US$ 7.86 billion toward the AIDS response in low-and middle-income countries in 2012, essentially unchanged from the US$ 7.63 billion level in 2011 after adjusting for inflation.

Overall, donor government funding for HIV has stayed at about the same level since 2008 - a plateau that followed a period of dramatic growth that saw donor nation support increase more than six-fold between 2002 and 2008. This flattening mirrors a similar trend in development assistance more generally, reflecting the economic and fiscal constraints of the post-financial-crisis period.

The United States government remains the largest donor to HIV efforts, contributing US$5 billion in 2012 towards the AIDS response in low-and middle-income countries and to the Global Fund, up slightly from the US$ 4.5 billion in 2011. The U.S. increase results from a quickened disbursement rate of previously approved funding.

"After years of sharp increases in donor government support which led to significant progress in the fight against the HIV epidemic, funding flattened after the worldwide recession and is likely to remain flat for the immediate future," said Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman.

"We are at a critical moment in the AIDS response," said Luiz Loures, Deputy Executive Director, Programme, UNAIDS, "Scientific advances and new guidelines are providing opportunities to accelerate action and expand access to lifesaving HIV services. To take full advantage of these opportunities all efforts must be made to ensure the response to HIV is fully funded."

Five donor governments - Australia, Canada, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S. - reported increased total assistance for HIV in 2012, with U.S. assistance increasing by just more than US$ 500 million. Six decreased funding in 2012: Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the European Commission. Three donor governments - Germany, Italy, and Norway - stayed constant in their support in 2012. The report found that the great majority, US$ 6 billion, of international HIV assistance is provided bilaterally.

The United States accounted for nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of disbursements from donor governments bilaterally and multilaterally. The United Kingdom was the second largest donor (10.2%), followed by France (4.8%), Germany (3.7%), and Japan (2.7%). When viewed as a share of national economies, Denmark provided the highest amount of resources for HIV in 2012, followed by the U.K, Sweden, the U.S., and Ireland.

The new report, produced as a partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS, provides the latest data available on donor funding based on data provided by governments.

This report is based on analysis of data of 24 donor government members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Assistance Committee. It includes their combined bilateral assistance to low- and middle-income countries, and contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as to UNITAID.

[Miss Philicia]

Denmark -- impressive, but less people live there than in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

The UK contribution is obviously commendable (does that include the Isle of Man which is the 8th wealthiest country in the world or not?)

Just off the top of my head, France's population is slightly larger than the UK's, and Germany is 20% larger -- Japan's population is twice that of the UK. And that leaves Italy and Spain as the other "large" EU countries. France, Germany and Japan's contributions are simply embarrassing. Many of these countries (you did not put in bold) have been DECREASING their contributions.

The bottom line is that by nominal GDP per IMF 2012 figures the EU has a larger GDP than the US. And Japan's is a third of those numbers.

edit: and like bugsy brings up, if you include the private donations of entities like the Gates Foundation the US portion is even larger.

[Ann]

If you include the private donations of entities like the Elton John Foundation, the UK portion is also even larger.

[Miss Philicia]

Nice, but you are ignoring (repeatedly) my point about the EU as a whole. Much less Japan. Unsurprisingly however. I believe that's called cherry picking.

[Ann]

(does that include the Isle of Man which is the 8th wealthiest country in the world or not?)

Pfft. It's a load of tosh, at least where the ordinary IoM resident is concerned. One of the commentators at the end of the article summed it up quite well:

"As one of a dwindling number of true Manx left on the island, I find this revelation revolting. The government of ‘ independents ‘ has been only too eager to jump on the austerity bandwagon. Falling over itself to hit the weak and poor, whilst driving down terms and conditions of employment in the public sector. Decent public services such as transport and the post are naturally being touted for privatisation.

The island is a beautiful place but sadly over populated with nasty, shady, on the make, people and politicians. As a native it’s my dearest wish to witness our tax haven activities cease. Sadly there’s no desire in the UK to end the situation here, nor in any other Crown Dependency engaged in tax avoidance. There’s certainly no desire amongst the spivs who run all things Manx to change the status quo, they’re all doing far too nicely out of it."

Like many places in the world, the US and UK included, many of our politicians... well, they suck, to put it succinctly.

As for chipping in for aid to other countries, we do it all the time because it gives our politicians a chance to be "the big I-Am" and pretend they make a difference on the world stage. Illusions of grandeur, anyone?

Anyway, let's not derail this discussion with waffle about The Rock. We're inconsequential when all is said and done (and I've never pretended otherwise). It's a lovely place to live though, places and (average) people-wise.


You posted again while I was doing other stuff and writing the above^^

I'm not in the EU nor Japan, although I'm more closely associated with the UK by dint of where I live. (The UK is in the EU, but the IoM isn't.) I have no wish to get into an in-depth discussion about the EU or Japan vs the US - the only  point of my previous posting was to give some perspective, that some other countries do contribute a fair share. Yours and Bug's comments made it sound like no other country came anywhere close when in fact they do, all things considered.

[pittman]

Just off the top of my head, France's population is slightly larger than the UK's, and Germany is 20% larger -- Japan's population is twice that of the UK. And that leaves Italy and Spain as the other "large" EU countries. France, Germany and Japan's contributions are simply embarrassing. Many of these countries (you did not put in bold) have been DECREASING their contributions.

The bottom line is that by nominal GDP per IMF 2012 figures the EU has a larger GDP than the US. And Japan's is a third of those numbers.

Per capita (Population based) is a poor way to compare donations, as it does not account for ability. France, for instance, is really not doing so well at the moment economically.

GDP would be a better measure, though even that is of limited value as it is a very rough tool for gross output rather than net,  and again, does not reflect things like sovereign debt, or other very real constraints.

All of that aside, your point that the U.S. does a tremendous amount to help global aids/HIV efforts is still very valid, and can often feel like it's taken for granted without some level of shared responsibility in the world community.