NAIROBI, 19 July 2012 (PlusNews) – Many sub-Saharan African nations – traditionally the beneficiaries of international HIV funding – are gradually increasing their financial contributions to the fight against the virus, boosting the number of people on treatment to record highs according to a new UNAIDS report, Together We Will End AIDS, released on 18 July.
Low- and middle-income countries invested US$8.6 billion in the response in 2011, an increase of 11 percent compared to 2010, whereas the international community contributed $8.2 billion, a figure that has remained flat since 2008. The United States contributed nearly half of all international assistance for HIV/AIDS.
“This is an era of global solidarity and mutual accountability,” Michel Sidibé, executive director of UNAIDS, said in a statement. “Countries most affected by the epidemic are taking ownership and demonstrating leadership in responding to HIV.”
Increased local funding
In several African countries, including Kenya, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Uganda, domestic spending on HIV/AIDS rose by more than 100 percent between 2006 and 2011. In Botswana, Comoros, Mauritania, Mauritius, the Seychelles and South Africa, domestic investment accounted for more than 70 percent of AIDS funding.
The increases in funding allowed a record 6.2 million Africans to access life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment in 2011, compared to 5.1 million in 2010. The most impressive numbers in 2011 were seen in South Africa, which initiated 300,000 people on treatment, Zimbabwe (150,000) and Kenya (100,000). The recently released 2012 UN Millennium Development Goals report notes that Botswana, Namibia and Rwanda have achieved universal access to ARVs. Continue reading “Africa Domestic Investment in HIV Goes Up But It’s Uneven”
