Mapping the Donor Landscape in Global Health: HIV/AIDS

While the United States remains the world’s largest donor to global efforts to address HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries, dozens of other nations and multilateral organizations also engage in these efforts around the globe.   The large number of donor organizations working on these efforts creates challenges for effectively negotiating, coordinating and delivering programs, particularly in the current era of economic austerity.

This report maps the complex network of international assistance aimed at addressing the global impact of HIV/AIDS.  The analysis identifies 37 different donors, comprising 26 nations providing bi-lateral support and 11 multilateral programs, providing assistance to 143 recipient countries over a three-year period through 2011.   Key findings include:

• The U.S. provides almost two-thirds of all HIV/AIDS international assistance. The next largest donor, the Global Fund, provides one fifth of all assistance.  Together they account for an average of 80 percent global HIV/AIDS assistance.
• On average, 10 donors were present in each recipient country. Fourteen recipient countries had more than 20 donors present during the three-year period: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, India, Burkina Faso and Mali.
• The biggest donor varies by region, with the United States providing the largest share of assistance in sub-Saharan Africa and North & Central America; the Global Fund providing the largest share in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South and Central Asia, South America and Far East Asia; and Australia providing the largest share in Oceania.

This report is the first in a series that will examine the donor nations and multilateral organizations involved in addressing different global health challenges in recipient countries worldwide.  The reports aim at providing perspective on the geographic presence of global health donors and to enable more effective coordination and delivery of services globally and within individual recipient nations.