Health GAP (Global Access Project): Statement and Analysis On Bush's Global AIDS Announcement Today
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 30, 2007
8:27 AM
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CONTACT: Health GAP (Global Access Project)
Asia Russell (267) 475 2645 or
Paul
Davis (215) 833 4102
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Statement and Analysis On Bush's Global AIDS Announcement Today
Bush's Anticipated Call Today for Doubling of Funds for
Reauthorization of U.S. Global AIDS Program 'Flatlines' U.S. Support
for AIDS Treatment in Africa
Health GAP Releases Comprehensive Budget and Policy Recommendations
for the Next 4 Years of the U.S. Global AIDS Initiative
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WASHINGTON - MAY 30 - In response to President Bush's anticipated request
today for a doubling of funds over the next phase of the "President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" (PEPFAR), Health GAP released an
analysis showing the funding is not keeping pace with the spread of
the epidemic. According to Health GAP's analysis, "doubling" spending
merely maintains current levels of U.S. spending on AIDS. This,
despite the fact that new infections are on the rise in many parts of
the world, and only a very limited portion of HIV positive people who
are in urgent clinical need of treatment have access, is unacceptable
according to the group.
"At the Group of 8 Summit in 2005 and again at the UN General
Assembly in 2006, Bush made a promise to reach universal access to
HIV treatment and prevention,"
said Paul Davis of Health GAP. "The U.S. share of the cost of
keeping that promise will cost at least $45 billion over the next
four years. Merely doubling U.S. spending would actually flatline
spending at current levels. Moreover, a doubling would result in an
overall decrease in the proportion of people with HIV on treatment
because of U.S. investments."
Health GAP called on Bush to commit to continuing support for one-
third of those estimated to be in urgent clinical need of HIV
treatment--a proportion that will increase to roughly 4 million people.
According to advocates, PEFPAR in its second phase must urgently
scale up its investments in training, retaining, and supporting
doctors, nurses and community health workers, in order to meet
existing targets and build toward new ones.
"There is a catastrophic shortage of health workers in Africa, and
unless PEPFAR commits to spending new money to address this crisis,
the U.S. will not be able to meet its treatment and prevention goals--
or sustain its progress over the next phase of this program," said
Asia Russell of Health GAP. At least $5.5 billion in additional
spending by the U.S. is needed to invest in training and retaining
health professionals during the next 4 years of PEPFAR.
"Fighting AIDS in Africa without addressing the health worker crisis
is like treating a massive hemorrhage with a handful of band-aids,"
added Jose DeMarco of Health GAP. "PEPFAR must spend money to train
and deploy new health workers and pay the providers who are at the
heart of any successful AIDS response."
PEPFAR was launched with controversial policy restrictions that have
undermined the effectiveness of the initiative, according to
evaluators. Health GAP called for Congress to repeal ideologically-
motivated provisions in the second phase of PEFPAR, such as the
earmark of spending at least one-third of prevention funding on ineffective "abstinence only until marriage" education. In addition,
the wasteful program of FDA "tentative approval" for generic
medicines should also be eliminated; although this process eventually
resulted in procurement of generic medicines, it duplicates the
efforts of the WHO because of political objections by the Bush Administration.
The U.S. has dragged its feet in funding its fair share of the
funding needs of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, an critical complement to U.S. bilateral programs. The
Global Fund announced a target size of $6-8 billion by 2010, and
today advocates called on the U.S. to scale up its investments in the
Global Fund, in order to achieve that target size.
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