PEPFAR, Global Fund flat in White House Budget document, while TB plan doesn’t get a mention
The Obama administration raised hopes and goals for HIV treatment and prevention last year, but today (February 9) released a budget with flat funding for the programs that must meet those goals.
The Administration’s fiscal year 2017 budget proposes $4.65 billion for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and $1.35 billion the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria – the same amounts proposed in last year’s budget.
And while the White House launched an ambitious National Action Plan to Combat Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis at the end of last year, the budget document contains no mention of tuberculosis or a funding number for USAID’s global TB program.
The proposal does include a $43 million increase to combat antimicrobial resistance, totaling $877 million to prevent, detect, and control illness and death related to infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The White House released a plan last spring to combat antimicrobial resistance in which tuberculosis was rated as a “serious” but not “urgent” threat.
Like the President’s State of the Union address in January, the document does mention malaria. It includes a $200 million – or 30 percent – increase to combat malaria globally, including a $71 million increase for the President’s Malaria Initiative and a proposal to use an additional $129 million out of remaining Ebola emergency funding to combat malaria.
The Obama Administration is also proposing a $275 million contribution to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an increase from $235 million proposed in fiscal year 2016.
The Administration also proposes flat funding for the Global Health Security Agenda at $72.5 million.
Source: Science Speaks
