AIDS fight threatened by lack of funding

The global fight against AIDS, TB and Malaria is being 'threatened by a lack of resources', according to a new report released by the US General Accounting Office, and this situation is jeopardising more than 150 major health initiatives in some 90 countries.

Many of the programmes financed by the Global Fund provide life-saving AIDS medications and their interruption could have fatal consequences, the report warns.

While the report identifies a number of areas where the Fund needs to improve, overall the assessment is positive. The report says the Fund has made 'noteworthy progress' in establishing governance structures and that it has developed 'comprehensive oversight systems'.

'But the Fund's ability to continue its important work, and refine its approaches, is compromised by the lack of full support from President Bush,' said Dr Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance. 'Countries like India, where the epidemic is expanding, will also be particularly hurt.'

President Bush's proposal for AIDS spending for fiscal year 2004 will soon be considered by House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The proposal virtually halves what the US is providing to the Global Fund this year.