Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
AIDS funding: competing needs and the politics of priorities.
Int J Health Serv. 1988;18(4):521-41. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/89173490 Krieger N; Department of Biomedical and Environmental Health Sciences,; School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley; 94720.
Abstract:
Despite the Department of Health and Human Service's 1983 claim that AIDS is the nation's number one health priority, funding for AIDS research, prevention, and treatment remains inadequate. Worse, it is often marshaled from or juxtaposed against other necessary health allocations. Consequent AIDS-related resource crises include diverting funds for research on other diseases to AIDS investigations, propping up AIDS prevention efforts at the expense of traditional sexually transmitted disease control programs, and pitting the health needs of AIDS patients against the needs of those seeking other urgent health services, e.g., prenatal care. While this forced competition typically is blamed on fiscal constraints, examination of federal spending priorities suggests that it results principally from Reagan Administration policies. This Administration has consistently boosted military spending at the expense of social and health services, and has deliberately undermined efforts to obtain sufficient and new allocations for AIDS. In order to avert political divisions spurred by competition for currently scarce resources, AIDS and other health activists together must argue that excessive military allocations must be shifted to health research and services, and that a national health program must be implemented, if AIDS programs are to be funded appropriately without jeopardizing other necessary health initiatives.
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*ECONOMICS/EPIDEMIOLOGY/ PREVENTION & CONTROL Adolescence Adult Budgets/*LEGISLATION & JURISPRUD California Child Financial Management/*LEGISLATION & JURISPRUD Financing, Government/*ORGANIZATION & ADMIN Human Male National Health Programs United States United States Dept. of Health and Human Services JOURNAL ARTICLE
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
