IRIN: As AIDS money shrinks, who loses?
“As the global public health community gathered in the South African city of Durban this week to talk about the end of AIDS, they were greeted with news that annual international support for combating the epidemic had fallen by more than US$1 billion. The news added weight to existing calls for middle-income countries to take more responsibility for funding their own responses. As part of a global strategy to end the epidemic by 2030, representatives from many of the world’s middle-income countries say they are willing to take on that challenge, and with it the opportunity to assume more control in guiding their national programs. However, there are deep concerns, both among officials and activists…” (Green, 7/21).

Rappler: Decline in HIV funding worries health advocates
“…A joint report by the UNAIDS and the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that donor funding declined from $8.6 billion in 2014 to $7.5 billion in 2015. Adjustments made for foreign exchange fluctuations still showed an overall decline in donor funding. … The report found that funding for HIV declined in 13 of 14 donor governments. … While it is still unclear if the funding decline is a blip or an indicator of things to come, it is [gains in HIV treatment and prevention] that experts fear will be jeopardized if funding further declines. ‘The effects of BREXIT have yet to be assessed, but the U.K. is the second biggest funder of the Global Fund. The U.S. is the top funder, and we don’t know yet what the changes in leadership in November will bring. We can look at other donors — private corporations, foundations, and individual donors, but it is unclear if this will fill in the gap,’ said [Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation]…” (Santos, 7/22)