New ONE report shows mixed progress in the AIDS fight on the continent

JOHANNESBURG (November 26, 2013) – Sixteen African countries in sub-Saharan Africa have already reached the ‘beginning of the end of AIDS,’ defined as a time when the total number of new HIV infections is lower than the number of patients newly receiving AIDS treatment in the same year.

This is according to a new ONE report on the state of the global fight against HIV and AIDS. The report, however, has found widely divergent progress in efforts to control the disease, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa. According to the data, some African countries still lag far behind.

“Our analysis shows major distinctions between leaders and laggards, and that a one-size-fits-all approach to tackling HIV and AIDS on the continent does not make sense,” says Dr. Sipho S. Moyo, ONE’s Africa Director.

ONE’s report profiles nine African countries in detail, analyzing their funding levels, national planning, and civil society engagement in tackling the disease. Leading the way are countries such as Ghana, Malawi and Zambia, where governments, international donors and civil society leaders have been working together to achieve dramatic progress against HIV and AIDS.

On the other end of the spectrum are countries like Cameroon, Nigeria and Togo, where efforts to combat HIV and AIDS have been hampered by insufficient political will or competing political priorities, inadequate funding, poor delivery systems, and stigma against marginalized populations.

Key countries to watch in the coming years include South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, where real, but erratic strides have been made in recent years.

Globally, the ONE report finds significant progress towards achieving the beginning of the end of AIDS. In fact, if current rates of progress continue, the world can reach that milestone by 2015.

“To reach this AIDS tipping point by 2015 would have been unimaginable just a decade ago; this acceleration is major progress worth celebrating,” says Erin Hohlfelder, ONE’s Global Health Policy Director. “But getting there is not a foregone conclusion – it depends on donors and affected countries doing more together to ensure that treatment and prevention services reach everyone in need.”

The study finds that one of the most serious challenges facing the global fight against the disease is insufficient funding. According to UNAIDS, the effort is at least $3-$5 billion short of the annual $22-$24 billion necessary to turn the tide against the disease. With a few noteworthy exceptions, donor funding for the fight against HIV and AIDS has stalled, signaling that their financial commitments often do not match their rhetoric on ending the AIDS epidemic. Compounding this problem, the majority of African governments are not meeting their commitments to spend 15% of their budgets on health.

“In many ways, the fight against HIV/AIDS is struggling as a result of its successes,” explains Hohlfelder. “Because it is no longer perceived as a global health emergency, but rather a chronic and manageable disease, the fight has lost some of its political momentum. The upcoming Global Fund replenishment meeting in Washington, DC is the perfect forum to begin revitalizing the issue and recommit to the funding, strategy and political will necessary to make the 2015 goal a reality.”

Moving forward, the ONE report recommends the launch of a ‘prevention revolution,’ particularly among youths and marginalized populations. It calls for a globally-endorsed prevention target by 2014 that would help accelerate global efforts to prevent new HIV infections.

The ONE report also calls for greater transparency of the resources allocated to the fight against HIV and AIDS, both by donors and by affected countries.

Download the report:

Full report | Executive Summary | Infographic

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About ONE – ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organization of more than 3.5 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Co-founded by Bono and strictly non-partisan, we raise public awareness and work with political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs.

ONE is not a grant-making organization and does not solicit funding from the public or receive government funding. ONE is funded almost entirely by a handful of philanthropists and foundations. We achieve change through advocacy. Our teams in Washington, D.C., London, Johannesburg, Brussels, Berlin, and Paris educate and lobby governments to shape policy solutions that save and improve millions of lives. To learn more, go to www.ONE.org