Response to NYT "In Uganda, AIDS War Falling Apart" By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Published: May 9, 2010

(Click on posting title will bring you to article at NYT site.)

This article is disheartening indeed, but this current swing is not unexpected.

Funding for HIV specifically and global health generally will never be sufficient nor stable in amount of dollars, or for which types of programs will be targeted (HIV vs Maternal Child Health vs Millenium Development Goals, vs etc...). Commitments and significant announcements made by governments are often repurposed by new administrations in order to have their signature programs. The global recession has not helped the current situation that's for sure. The fact is that we are in a fight for the lives of millions, and this fight isn't going away. The ammunition that we have is the evidence we produce through our research and innovation that can back up the moral arguments we'll continue to make.

Our field team is managing potential stock-outs on a day to day basis to ensure that patients in our Zomba program continue to get access to ARVs. This is time consuming and frustrating for the team, and it looks like this will continue in the near future. There is a larger question here related to what happens if Malawi does not get renewed funding in the next Global Fund Round, and if PEPFAR, who recently signed a compact agreement with Malawi, will or will not step in if the Global Fund fails. There are too many shifting variables to reasonably predict what will happen at this moment. If tough decisions become necessary within our program, they will be made collaboratively with Dignitas staff in Malawi and Toronto, and with our partners at the Ministry of Health.

Seven years ago there was virtually no funding available for HIV treatment in the developing world. A lot of progress has been made since then. It looks like there will be funding setbacks in the short term, but precedents have been set, commitments have been made, and civil society organizations will need to continue to keep the pressure on. This is why the advocacy initiative we're putting together around the G8/20 is so important, and why developing and resourcing an advocacy agenda for Dignitas in the future is imperative.