After Aid: What is next for Tuberculosis and HIV in Europe?
Publisher: TB Europe Coalition
The report “After Aid: What is next for Tuberculosis and HIV in Europe?” explores the consequences of donor withdrawal from Eastern Europe and Central Asia on the HIV and TB epidemics. External donors such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and USAID have played a crucial role in ensuring access to TB and HIV services in the region. These programmes have primarily targeted vulnerable groups who are often overlooked by their governments. Shifting policies are leading international donors to withdraw support from middle income countries refocusing aid on low-income countries.
This shift in donor resources is likely to deal a catastrophic blow to HIV and TB patients in the region as donor withdrawal is unlikely to be matched by increased domestic investments in the immediate future, leaving potentially large gaps in financing of basic TB and HIV services. There is an urgent need for the Global Fund, the EU institutions, and affected countries to come together to develop sustainability roadmaps to address the decrease in international donor funding to the region. Only a concerted effort from multiple partners at the country level can ensure an effective and sustainable transition to domestic funding. It is critical that this opportunity is seized by political leaders and donors such as affected countries, the EU, and the Global Fund.