Advocacy and HIV/AIDS

How is the United States responding to the global AIDS pandemic?

In his 2003 State of the Union address, the President called for an emergency response to AIDS. While the $15 billion in funding that he proposed over a five-year period is significant, it appears that the government will actually spend much less on global AIDS issues. Of the money being spent on AIDS, only a small portion is being given to the Global Fund (see below).

 

What is Canada contributing to the global fight against AIDS?

Canada has contributed $25 million U.S. per year for four years. However based on a calculation of the equitable contribution according to Gross National Product (GNP), Canada’s contribution should be closer to $100 million U.S. per year.

 

Why support the Global Fund?

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, started by the United Nations, is one of the most efficient ways of quickly getting help to people with AIDS in Africa and elsewhere. Grants by the Global Fund are putting half a million people on life-saving anti-retroviral drugs and supporting a six-fold increase in the number of people in Africa receiving these drugs. Supporting the Global Fund is the best way to leverage Europe and other nations to do their fair share to fight AIDS. The Fund has strong safeguards to ensure funds are used appropriately. But the Fund is running out of money it can provide to new programs and to sustain ones it has already funded.

 

Why is providing funding for global AIDS programs in the interest of Canada and the U.S.?

The AIDS pandemic and its related causes in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and elsewhere threaten to destabilize nations and undermine global security. Taking immediate action to ensure adequate resources to combat AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria is one of the best ways the U.S. and Canada can lead by example. The funding needs to be provided to programs that are based on balanced, comprehensive, and scientifically-based approaches to AIDS prevention and that fully respond to the needs of women and girls.

 

Find out how you can help make a difference

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