On UMICs United Nations Secretary General should be ashamed…
The current UNSG’s report includes a table that calls for a dramatic pullout of international funding from upper-middle income countries (p17/31). As I wrote here, it also includes ridiculous estimates that low- and lower-middle income countries will increase their funding by 400-500%.
South Africa alone is slated to get more than $500m from PEPFAR & Global Fund in 2016—is it really the UNSG’s position this is “too much” international funding to address the largest epidemic in the world?
UNAIDS has noted, in its own resource needs document, that 35 countries account for 90% of new HIV infections globally. 8 of the 35 are UMICs—yet the UNSG is calling for pulling out of those countries. Will South Africa get cut just as its struggling to scale up? Or will countries like Namibia, Botswana, Thailand and others get ZERO international dollars in 2020?
Meanwhile, despite all the good language in the report about key populations it seems the plan is not to fund them. We know governments (including my own) don’t sufficiently fund programs for marginalized groups or NGOs that challenge social norms. We know international solidarity is key for key populations. But the UN systems is advocating we give up the fight in UMICS?
This is the plan to “end AIDS”?
Luckily so far the draft HLM Political Declaration has avoided including this level of incoherence and calls on all actors to come—but this sort of thinking shows a complete abdication of leadership from the United Nations Family. And its having an effect–already rich countries are pushing to take out the funding target or else have it written in stone they are passing the buck on to other countries.
What is UNAIDS doing??