📋 Tender Overview
Fully funding the HIV response would save millions of lives and have far-reaching health social and economic impacts research and analysis by Economist Impact and a UN agency revealed on Wednesday. in 13 African countries.This report comes at a crucial time. The evidence it provides should serve as a catalyst for policy decisions to ensure full funding for HIV said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.Ms. Byanyima also signaled that full funding would have broad socio-economic implications and will be a step for African countries towards building more resilient and better prepared health systems to prevent future pandemics.Indeed according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIVAIDS UNAIDS depending on the country fully funding the response would reduce new HIV infections by 40 to 90. Investments in the HIV epidemic would also promote education especially for young women and girls reduce gender inequalities and boost economic growth.Strengthening Equity Societies and EconomiesIf for example these targets were met in South Africa then adolescent girls aged 15-19 would account for nearly 15 of the decline in new infections by 2030 despite representing less than 5 of the total population.Bold choices are needed today to accelerate investments and capitalize on these decisions in HIV and health to strengthen equity societies and economies Ms Byanyima added.Furthermore increasing current investments in HIV would contribute to broader and more sustainable economic gains by 2030 thereby freeing up invaluable resources to address other critical health challenges.The report calculates that meeting these financing targets would result in an additional 2.8 increase in GDP in South Africa and 1.1 in Kenya by 2030.Political programmatic and financial will is needed to end HIVAIDS as a public health threat said Dr. John N. Nkengasong U.S. Global Response Coordinator. against AIDS.A young woman tests negative for HIV at her home in Ndjamena the capital of Chad.A hefty bill for health and savings if funds are not mobilizedThe findings of this report come as recent global crises including Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have hampered efforts to tackle the HIV epidemic. A situation that has weighed heavily on funding for health and other Sustainable Development Goals.The report quantifies the hefty bill for health societies and economies if the funds needed to end AIDS by 2030 are not mobilized as a public health threat.To assess these negative impacts Economist Impact with the support of UNAIDS compared the scenario in which the necessary financial resources were fully covered to achieve the targets of the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and the one in which the levels HIV funding and service are maintained at current levels.According to UNAIDS the worsening of pre-existing socio-economic and health inequalities will be felt most among young women children and other vulnerable populations.Over 3.5 million AIDS deaths can be preventedThe major budgetary constraints facing African countries have limited their ability to increase domestic financing for the HIV response and general health budgets.UNAIDS estimates that low- and middle-income countries will need to invest 29 billion each year to meet targets to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. In 2020 funding levels fell falling almost 30 behind the targets. This situation complicates the future coverage of needs and puts future objectives out of reach.The Geneva-based UN agency predicts more than 7 million AIDS deaths but stresses that half can be avoided if the response is fully funded and policies go in the right direction.Global 2025 targets include bringing the annual number of new HIV infections to less than 370000 from 1.5 million in 2021 HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women to less than 50000 and deaths linked to an opportunistic disease at less than 250000 compared to 650000 in 2021.
