JOHANNESBURG, Nov 5, 2009 (AFP) - Waning international donor support for the fight against AIDS is a threat to a decade of progress in HIV treatment, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Thursday.
"Some of the spotlight has come off of HIV largely due to the fact that there has been tremendous success in scaling up. There are four million people alive on ARVs (anti-retrovirals) that otherwise wouldn't have been," MSF spokeswoman Sharonann Lynch told AFP.
"The dirty secret is that donors want to be let off the hook for what is lifelong and unfortunately, right now, expensive treatment."
The charity, in a new 12-page report, warns that a retreat in donor support could have "catastrophic implications".
"Both political commitment and funding allocations are waning," it said.
"The most glaring sign of the decreasing political commitment to HIV-AIDS is a major funding deficit," the report added.
A "dangerous trend" underway in global health policy arena had seen calls for foreign aid to be diverted from HIV to other health priorities but MSF said cutting AIDS aid was not the answer.
"This killer disease is an ongoing emergency that requires dedicated resources at the national and international levels," it said.
Funding cuts in Uganda had resulted in HIV positive patients being turned away and now-resolved financial shortages in South Africa saw treatment disrupted and uptake of new HIV positive patients.
While four million people are on anti-AIDS drugs in the world, some six million people are still in need of treatment, MSF said.
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 11/05/2009 14:46:24
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