AIDS Funding From Developed Nations Increased Significantly in 2008, Report Finds

Commitments and disbursements from governments in the developed world to address HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries increased significantly in 2008, a new report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS finds.

The annual report, Financing the Response to AIDS in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: International Assistance From the G8, European Commission and Other Donor Governments in 2008 (18 pages, PDF), found that commitments from developed nations topped $8.7 billion in 2008, up from $6.6 billion the previous year. Disbursements, which reflect actual resources made available in a given year and therefore provide a better measure of resource availability, increased 56 percent, to $7.7 billion, in 2008. Approximately $5.7 billion of the disbursed funds were distributed bilaterally, while $1.7 billion was awarded to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and $265 million to UNITAID.

Disbursements from the United States totaled $4 billion, representing more than half of all disbursements and the most of any single country. The United Kingdom was the second largest donor, followed by the Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. However, when disbursements are measured as a share of gross domestic product, the Netherlands ranks first, followed by the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States.

Although the report is based on the latest data from donor countries, budgets set by those countries for 2008 were largely in place before the deepening of the global recession, which, according to the report, may create challenges for future funding.

“Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS Issue Report on Funding for AIDS by G8 Countries and Other Major Donors.” Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS Press Release 7/13/09.

Primary Subject: Health
Secondary Subject(s): International Affairs/Development
Location(s): International

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