Medecins Sans Frontieres pleads for more AIDS funding, saying other crises have hurt donations

Associated Press

Last update: November 5, 2009 - 5:31 AM

JOHANNESBURG - A medical aid group says funding for AIDS is threatened, and that could set back "dramatic" progress in decreasing HIV illness and death.

Medecins Sans Frontieres officials said at a news conference Thursday that the global recession and calls to commit funds to other health crises has hurt the fight against AIDS. The group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, says money for other health issues should be given in addition to money for AIDS.

Campaigners often compare the toll of diseases such as measles and tuberculosis — major killers in poor countries — to that of AIDS. That demonstrates the extent to which policy is shaped by AIDS, but can also make it appear that well-meaning health and development workers are caught up in unseemly competition for international donor money.

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