amfAR Applauds Commitment to National HIV/AIDS Strategy in FY2012 Budget but Is Concerned About Near Flat-Funding of Global AIDS Efforts
Domestic AIDS research, prevention efforts receive a boost
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NEW YORK, February 15, 2011—amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, on Tuesday applauded many of the funding and policy initiatives in President Obama’s proposed FY2012 budget, but cautioned that yet another year of near flat-funding of the global AIDS response will undermine the strong gains against HIV/AIDS that U.S. leadership has helped foster around the world.
Domestically, the budget proposal includes increases of $74 million in AIDS research, $80 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), $22 million for a new initiative focusing on 12 epicenters of the epidemic, and new investments in HIV prevention for gay men and other men who have sex with men. Additionally, the budget includes several policy and program changes that will advance the response to the domestic AIDS epidemic through the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. These include emphasizing higher-impact HIV prevention interventions and launching demonstration projects to test delivery of new prevention interventions.
“Many of these budget proposals set the stage for a more strategic and effective response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and we’re particularly heartened by the increase in funding for AIDS research,” said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. “Advances in AIDS prevention and treatment will only happen if we continue to invest in research.”
“There are important investments and policy advances on the domestic side of this budget proposal that demonstrate the Administration’s strong commitment to the success of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy,” said Chris Collins, amfAR’s vice president and director of public policy.
The Administration’s request includes $1.3 billion for the Global Fund program, a welcome boost to critical programming for HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, Collins said.
However, the government’s bilateral AIDS program, PEPFAR, is virtually flat-funded. PEPFAR has been able to continue scale-up of AIDS treatment and other services, even with minimal funding increases in recent years, because it has identified cost-savings in drug procurement and other areas.
“Efficiency gains won’t last forever,” Collins said, “and we are very concerned that in the near future flat-funding for PEPFAR will mean reduced availability of lifesaving prevention and treatment services.”
Related articleS
amfAR Analysis: Potential Impact of Increased Investments in HIV/AIDS Programs
The Impact of Reducing Global Health Funding to FY 2008 Funding Levels: Projecting the Human Cost (Issue brief, 2011)
About amfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $325 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.