The funding crisis for Harm Reduction
There can be no ‘AIDS free generation’ without targeted efforts with and for people who inject drugs, yet, as this report shows, funding for harm reduction falls dangerously short of estimated need.
6 Aug 2014US$ 2.3 billion annually is estimated by UNAIDS to be required to fund HIV prevention among people who inject drugs in 2015. At last estimate only US$ 160 million was invested by international donors – approximately 7% of what is required.
This situation is likely to get worse. International donor policy and practice is changing. Increasingly, funds are directed towards low-income countries with a high disease burden and related HIV treatment services. More countries are becoming ineligible for international donor support due to their middle-income status, regardless of epidemiological need or the willingness of the national government to step in and cover the remaining funding gaps. This is despite the fact that the majority of people who inject drugs (approximately 75%) live in these countries.
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