UNAIDS Press Statement - June 4, 2007

The G8 nations have made several prior commitments to address the epidemic, and this year's agenda also includes a focus on AIDS, as well as other infectious diseases. Financing the response to the global AIDS epidemic has emerged as one of the world's greatest health and development challenges. Despite significant increases in funding for AIDS, latest data from 2006 shows that resources still fall short of the estimated need. The report, Financing the response to AIDS in low- and middle-income countries: International assistance from the G8, European Commission, and other donor Governments, 2006 tracks funding levels of the mentioned donor governments, who collectively provide the bulk of international assistance for AIDS through bilateral programmes and contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Some key findings of the report include:

-- In 2006, international AIDS assistance from the G8, European Commission, and other donor governments reached its highest level ever with commitments totaling US$5.6 billion and disbursements, or funds made available during the year, reaching US$3.9 billion.

-- Donor government funding has risen significantly over the past several years. Between 2002 and 2006, commitments and disbursements each increased more than three-fold, although commitments rose at a faster rate than disbursements.

-- The United States government provides by far the largest share of donor government funding for AIDS, accounting for nearly half (47%) of funding commitments made by these governments in 2006. The Netherlands ranks second with 17% of commitments, followed by the United Kingdom at 14%.

-- However, when donor efforts are assessed based on national wealth (AIDS funding disbursements per million US dollars of GDP), three non-G8 Members - the Netherlands, Sweden, and Ireland - lead the pack in funding. The U.S. falls in the middle and Japan and Italy are at the bottom.

-- The difference between UNAIDS' estimates of resource needs compared to resources available in 2006 was US$6 billion, a difference that could even grow larger over the next few years. Most of this difference will need to be filled by the international community.

The full report is available online from the Kaiser Family Foundation - www.kff.org, and UNAIDS - www.unaids.org

Contact

Beth Magne-Watts | UNAIDS Geneva | +41 22 791 5074 | magnewattsb@unaids.org

Rob Graham | Kaiser Family Foundation | +1 650-854-9400 | rgraham@kff.org

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN system organizations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerlandùwith staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS. UNAIDS' Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Visit the UNAIDS Web site at www.unaids.org

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.

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