Congressional Briefing - December 15, 2011

Global HIV Programs at the Crossroads: How Can Donor Funding Be Optimized?

Red HIV/AIDS awareness ribbon surrounded by people symbols

Date:

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Time:

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
light refreshments will be provided

Location:

2168 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

About the Program

On World AIDS Day two weeks ago, President Obama announced a commitment to scale up treatment worldwide to 6 million HIV-positive people in need. But how can this global scale-up be achieved?

How can global HIV programs possibly hope to continue meeting an ever-growing need for services in the face of limited funding?

Come hear a briefing from one of the authors of a new RAND report that provides policy options and recommendations for the path forward.

  • The authors recommend focusing on efficiency of HIV funding and present specific changes through which existing resources might be better leveraged.
  • The report's recommendations are based on an analysis of the two largest donor institutions: the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, to which the United States is the largest contributor.
  • The authors assert that, "given the substantial yet flat-lined funding available for HIV services, it becomes imperative to come up with creative ways to provide appropriate services to the largest possible number of people in need." They also assert that funding decisions should be based on efficiency considerations and targeted to those activities with the highest payoffs. For instance, new evidence, such as the added benefit of treatment as prevention, needs to be taken into account. This would likely lead to increased priority for the scaling up of treatment to cover more people in need, in line with President Obama's announcement the week before last.

About RAND

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND focuses on the issues that matter most, such as health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, the environment, and more. As a nonpartisan organization, RAND operates independent of political and commercial pressures. We serve the public interest by helping lawmakers reach informed decisions on the nation's pressing challenges. Visit us online at www.rand.org.

Further Inquiries

For further information about this event, contact the Office of Congressional Relations at ocr@rand.org or call (703) 413-1100, ext. 5395.