Will funding shortfalls derail HIV gains?

PARIS, France. — HIV experts joined forces in an official Press conference at the 9th IAS Conference on HIV Science ( IAS 2017) on Sunday to issue a strong call for a renewed global commitment to funding for HIV research and programmes, highlighting the return on investment for governments, communities and the private sector.

IAS 2017 takes place in the context of recent declines in global HIV funding and as major government donors are either calling for or considering further cuts to scientific research funding.

Decline

A recently released report from UNAIDS and the Kaiser Family Foun- dation found that Government funding for HIV fell for the second year in a row in 2016, declining seven percent over the previous year. In current US dollars, this brings disbursements to their lowest level since 2010.

Additionally, a new AVAC report found that funding for HIV prevention Research and Development in 2016 decreased by three percent from the previous year, the lowest annual investment in more than a decade.

US effect

The US – the largest donor in the world’s HIV response – is threatening devastating funding cuts for research and treatment programmes. amfAR and AVAC recently forecast that proposed US funding cuts, if fully enacted, would result in more than one million HIV treatment disruptions and nearly 150 000 AIDS- related deaths.

“Current attacks on HIV research funding threaten to stall or undo recent progress,” Linda- Gail Bekker, the President of the International AIDS Society ( IAS) and International Scientific Chair of IAS 2017, said.

“Through investments like PEPFAR, we have seen what can be achieved when nations and donors come together to direct meaningful resources toward solutions. PEPFAR has significantly impacted the global HIV epidemic.”

The expert panel included: Gregorio Millett, Vice-president and Director of Public Policy at amfAR, who discussed the real- world impact of potential funding cuts; Solange Baptiste, Executive Director of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition ( ITPC Global), who spoke about why community investment and strengthening is critical; Charles Lyons, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation, who provided the perspective of an organisation implementing HIV programmes; and Christine Lubinski, Vice President for Global Health at the Infectious Diseases Society of America, who underscored the need for continued research investments to better understand and respond to the epidemic. — IAS