HIV/AIDS – fears over future funding

[13 August 2010 - 09h48]

We are in a state of crisis … or at least those involved in the battle against HIV/AIDS are seriously concerned about the repercussions to come. Throughout the 18th International AIDS Society Conference in Vienna (Austria), various associations held a series of demonstrations and appealed to donor countries not to reduce their contributions. Researchers in France are, of course, among those expressing these concerns.

“The conference is a failure because of the absence of the principal donors. Very few politicians and health ministers have taken the trouble to attend”, lamented Professor Jean-Michel Delfraissy, director of France’s National AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Research Agency (the ANRS). This bodes ill for the future. One striking example is Austria: the host country for this global meeting stands out for its total lack of donations! “Its only involvement is hosting the conference”, states Professor Delfraissy. And although for the moment the crisis has not yet affected the budget, the ANRS director is “worried for the Agency and research in France”. Indeed, a number of projects are still awaiting funding.

At the next Global Fund Replenishment Conference this autumn, the international community will decide their commitment for the next 3 years. AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis … the concerns are real. Particularly since the WHO’s recommendations will bring an automatic increase in the number of victims to be treated.

In future, all HIV-positive patients with a CD4 level of below 350 per cubic millimetre of blood will have to be placed on antiretroviral treatment. Up to now, the threshold for starting treatment had been much later: 200 CD4 per cubic millimetre. The result is: “10 million additional people to be treated”, explains Yves Souteyrand, coordinator of the WHO’s HIV/AIDS Department Strategic Information Unit. This is equivalent to “2 billion dollars more by 2015”. At the same time, the epidemic is on the increase: for every 2 patients placed under treatment worldwide, 5 more contract the virus.

Michel Kazatchkine, director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, has expressed himself to be “extremely concerned” about the undertakings given by donor countries. He has also called on emerging countries such as Mexico and Brazil, for example, to “give their share to the Global Fund”. Yves Souteyrand recalls that “African countries had committed to investing 15% of their health budget to the fight against HIV/AIDS in 2005”. Yet while South Africa has provided a model example in this regard, the actual commitments made by many States have proved to be very uneven…

HIV/AIDS associations demonstrated strongly about this throughout the course of the Vienna conference. They fear a withdrawal of the commitment to treatment for all. Marches and shock tactics were used similar to those used by Act Up: a victim on a stretcher representing the Global Fund with doctors playing the part of donor countries and trying to carry out emergency treatment…

Source : Interview with Professor Jean-Michel Delfraissy, 22 July 2010; WHO, guidelines 2010; interview with Yves Souteyrand, 21 July 2010; from our special correspondent at the 18th International AIDS Society Conference in Vienna, 18-23 July 2010

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