Showing posts with label G20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label G20. Show all posts
Local leaders unitedly push for One Health approach. Will G20 leaders tango?
Punishing success in tackling AIDS: Funders’ retreat could wipe out health gains in HIV affected countries
Punishing success in tackling AIDS
Funders’ retreat could wipe out health gains in HIV affected countries
A retreat from international funding commitments for AIDS threatens to undermine the dramatic gains made in reducing AIDS-related illness and death in recent years, according to a new report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) "Punishing Success? Early Signs of a Retreat from Committment to HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment."
The MSF report highlights how expanding access to HIV treatment has not only saved the lives of people with AIDS but has been central to reducing overall mortality in a number of high HIV burden countries in southern Africa in recent years. In Malawi and South Africa, MSF observed very significant decreases in overall mortality in areas where antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage was high. Increased treatment coverage has also had an impact on the burden of other diseases, for example tuberculosis cases have been significantly reduced in Thyolo, Malawi and Western Cape province, South Africa.
"After almost a decade of progress in rolling out AIDS treatment we have seen substantial improvements, both for patients and public health. But recent funding cuts mean doctors and nurses are being forced to turn HIV patients away from clinics as if we were back in the 1990s before treatment was available," says Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, Director of MSF’s Access to Essential Medicines Campaign.
International support to combat HIV/AIDS is faltering as reflected in significant funding shortfalls. The board of directors of the Global Fund, a key financer of AIDS programmes in poor countries is unable to respond to countries’ needs and will next week in Addis Ababa vote whether or not to suspend all new funding proposals in 2010; and PEPFAR, the US AIDS programme is flatlining funding for two more years.
"The Global Fund must not cover up the deficit caused by its funders”, says von Schoen-Angerer. “The proposed cancellation of the 2010 funding round and other measures to slow the pace of treatment scale-up are punishing the successes of the past years and preventing countries from saving more lives."
In 2005, world leaders promised to support universal AIDS coverage by 2010, a promise that encouraged many African governments to launch ambitious treatment programmes.
"What about the promise made to people with AIDS? We gave them hope and life. We have to be there for them, we all knew from the beginning that this treatment was for life," says Olesi Ellemani Pasulani, MSF Clinical Officer in Thyolo District Hospital, Malawi. "Passing on the bill for treating AIDS to very poor countries would be a colossal betrayal."
Reducing funding at this time will leave people in urgent need of treatment to die prematurely and can lead to dangerous interruption of treatment. In Uganda, cuts have already begun to hit home with some facilities forced to stop treating new patients with HIV. Other countries are backing away from their earlier treatment coverage targets. In Free State, South Africa, past funding problems that have now been resolved led to disruption of treatment and a moratorium on treating new patients which resulted in an estimated 3,000 deaths.
The report provides evidence that, particularly in high HIV-prevalence settings, treating AIDS has a positive impact on other important health goals, in particular maternal and child health.
"A stronger commitment to other health priorities must happen, but this should be in addition to, not instead of, continued, increased commitment to HIV/AIDS," adds von Schoen-Angerer.
At present, over four million people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world receive antiretroviral therapy. An estimated six million people who are in need of life-saving treatment, are still waiting for access. MSF operates HIV/AIDS programmes in around 30 countries and provides antiretroviral treatment to more than 140,000 HIV-positive adults and children.
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Wikio.com, UK
World News Network, USA
Elites TV News, USA
Bihar and Jharkhnad News Service (BJNS)
Medecine Sans Frontieres
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Daylife.com
Twitter.com
Medworm.com
Worldaidscampaign.org
Soompi.com
Funders’ retreat could wipe out health gains in HIV affected countries
A retreat from international funding commitments for AIDS threatens to undermine the dramatic gains made in reducing AIDS-related illness and death in recent years, according to a new report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) "Punishing Success? Early Signs of a Retreat from Committment to HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment."
The MSF report highlights how expanding access to HIV treatment has not only saved the lives of people with AIDS but has been central to reducing overall mortality in a number of high HIV burden countries in southern Africa in recent years. In Malawi and South Africa, MSF observed very significant decreases in overall mortality in areas where antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage was high. Increased treatment coverage has also had an impact on the burden of other diseases, for example tuberculosis cases have been significantly reduced in Thyolo, Malawi and Western Cape province, South Africa.
"After almost a decade of progress in rolling out AIDS treatment we have seen substantial improvements, both for patients and public health. But recent funding cuts mean doctors and nurses are being forced to turn HIV patients away from clinics as if we were back in the 1990s before treatment was available," says Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, Director of MSF’s Access to Essential Medicines Campaign.
International support to combat HIV/AIDS is faltering as reflected in significant funding shortfalls. The board of directors of the Global Fund, a key financer of AIDS programmes in poor countries is unable to respond to countries’ needs and will next week in Addis Ababa vote whether or not to suspend all new funding proposals in 2010; and PEPFAR, the US AIDS programme is flatlining funding for two more years.
"The Global Fund must not cover up the deficit caused by its funders”, says von Schoen-Angerer. “The proposed cancellation of the 2010 funding round and other measures to slow the pace of treatment scale-up are punishing the successes of the past years and preventing countries from saving more lives."
In 2005, world leaders promised to support universal AIDS coverage by 2010, a promise that encouraged many African governments to launch ambitious treatment programmes.
"What about the promise made to people with AIDS? We gave them hope and life. We have to be there for them, we all knew from the beginning that this treatment was for life," says Olesi Ellemani Pasulani, MSF Clinical Officer in Thyolo District Hospital, Malawi. "Passing on the bill for treating AIDS to very poor countries would be a colossal betrayal."
Reducing funding at this time will leave people in urgent need of treatment to die prematurely and can lead to dangerous interruption of treatment. In Uganda, cuts have already begun to hit home with some facilities forced to stop treating new patients with HIV. Other countries are backing away from their earlier treatment coverage targets. In Free State, South Africa, past funding problems that have now been resolved led to disruption of treatment and a moratorium on treating new patients which resulted in an estimated 3,000 deaths.
The report provides evidence that, particularly in high HIV-prevalence settings, treating AIDS has a positive impact on other important health goals, in particular maternal and child health.
"A stronger commitment to other health priorities must happen, but this should be in addition to, not instead of, continued, increased commitment to HIV/AIDS," adds von Schoen-Angerer.
At present, over four million people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world receive antiretroviral therapy. An estimated six million people who are in need of life-saving treatment, are still waiting for access. MSF operates HIV/AIDS programmes in around 30 countries and provides antiretroviral treatment to more than 140,000 HIV-positive adults and children.
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Wikio.com, UK
World News Network, USA
Elites TV News, USA
Bihar and Jharkhnad News Service (BJNS)
Medecine Sans Frontieres
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Daylife.com
Twitter.com
Medworm.com
Worldaidscampaign.org
Soompi.com
Currency Transaction levy (CTL) could finance countries to meet MDGs for Health
Currency Transaction levy (CTL) could finance countries to meet MDGs for Health
The pressure is mounting with Stamp Out Poverty taking a lead with organizations from around the world in advocating for a Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) for Health, which when applied to the four major currencies (US dollar, Yen, Euro and British pound) could potentially raise up to USD 33 billion a year. This will raise sufficient finances to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for health, namely to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat the major diseases by 2015 (MDG numbers 4, 5 and 6).
The estimates that the CTL for Health, when applied to the four major currencies could raise up to USD 33 billion a year, don’t distort the financial markets, and thus provide an additional, predictable and sustainable source for funding. More information is available online at: www.stampoutpoverty.org
Stamp Out Poverty is a network made up of more than 40 UK charities, trade unions and faith groups that has been working on measures to help fund the finance gap required to pay for the Millennium Development Goals and is increasingly concerned with how the substantial costs of climate change are going to be met. Its flagship campaign is for a Currency Transaction Tax (CTL), where it has lead the way in commissioning work to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal when applied at a very low rate for the purpose of raising additional revenue for the alleviation of poverty.
In the run-up to the Group of Twenty countries (G-20) meeting later this month, the campaign is seeking endorsements from organizations in support of the Declaration of the Global Campaign for a Currency Transaction Levy for Health. This initiative is geared to push governments to take the necessary steps to introduce such a CTL levy, and make sure the benefits are dedicated to reach the health MDGs.
The Campaign acknowledges that neither allocated nor committed levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and domestic financing are sufficient to meet these MDG targets related to health, a situation compounded by the global financial crisis, which is severely affecting the poorest countries in the world.
The campaign call upon donors to keep their commitments to allocate 0.7% of their national budgets to ODA and that African countries, similarly, honour their Abuja Declaration pledge to commit at least 15% of their national budgets to health.
The campaign is committed to locating and harnessing additional, new and predictable income streams that are capable of meeting funding shortfalls. A Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) has the potential to raise revenue of at least USD 33 billion a year on a sustainable, predictable and on-going basis from the foreign exchange (fx) market, that has not been privy to levies or taxation to date.
The CTL is technically simple to implement: the foreign exchange market is fully electronic, revenue collection would be automatic, with no scope for avoidance.
At the proposed low rate of 0.005%, the foreign exchange market would not be adversely affected whilst at the same time significant income would be generated.
The CTL would be applied to the wholesale foreign exchange market only, and not affect the retail market nor have an impact on migrant remittances.
The proceeds of the CTL should benefit the health MDGs, most notably MDGs 4 and 5 on maternal and child health, which are seriously under-resourced, and Universal Access to HIV, TB and malaria prevention, treatment, care and support. The international community currently has the mechanisms in place to channel the funds and rapidly scale up interventions, (e.g., through the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and UNITAID).
The campaign is so far supported by the Africa Japan Forum, Japan; PLUS Coalition, France; Health GAP, USA; Family Care International, USA; International HIV/AIDS Alliance, UK; International Civil Society Support, Netherlands; Partners in Health, USA; Physicians for Human Rights, USA; RESULTS, USA; Stamp Out Poverty, UK; Stop AIDS Campaign, UK; Treatment Action Group, USA among others.
Published in:
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India
Media from Freedom, Nepal
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhan
Banderas News
The pressure is mounting with Stamp Out Poverty taking a lead with organizations from around the world in advocating for a Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) for Health, which when applied to the four major currencies (US dollar, Yen, Euro and British pound) could potentially raise up to USD 33 billion a year. This will raise sufficient finances to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for health, namely to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat the major diseases by 2015 (MDG numbers 4, 5 and 6).
The estimates that the CTL for Health, when applied to the four major currencies could raise up to USD 33 billion a year, don’t distort the financial markets, and thus provide an additional, predictable and sustainable source for funding. More information is available online at: www.stampoutpoverty.org
Stamp Out Poverty is a network made up of more than 40 UK charities, trade unions and faith groups that has been working on measures to help fund the finance gap required to pay for the Millennium Development Goals and is increasingly concerned with how the substantial costs of climate change are going to be met. Its flagship campaign is for a Currency Transaction Tax (CTL), where it has lead the way in commissioning work to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal when applied at a very low rate for the purpose of raising additional revenue for the alleviation of poverty.
In the run-up to the Group of Twenty countries (G-20) meeting later this month, the campaign is seeking endorsements from organizations in support of the Declaration of the Global Campaign for a Currency Transaction Levy for Health. This initiative is geared to push governments to take the necessary steps to introduce such a CTL levy, and make sure the benefits are dedicated to reach the health MDGs.
The Campaign acknowledges that neither allocated nor committed levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and domestic financing are sufficient to meet these MDG targets related to health, a situation compounded by the global financial crisis, which is severely affecting the poorest countries in the world.
The campaign call upon donors to keep their commitments to allocate 0.7% of their national budgets to ODA and that African countries, similarly, honour their Abuja Declaration pledge to commit at least 15% of their national budgets to health.
The campaign is committed to locating and harnessing additional, new and predictable income streams that are capable of meeting funding shortfalls. A Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) has the potential to raise revenue of at least USD 33 billion a year on a sustainable, predictable and on-going basis from the foreign exchange (fx) market, that has not been privy to levies or taxation to date.
The CTL is technically simple to implement: the foreign exchange market is fully electronic, revenue collection would be automatic, with no scope for avoidance.
At the proposed low rate of 0.005%, the foreign exchange market would not be adversely affected whilst at the same time significant income would be generated.
The CTL would be applied to the wholesale foreign exchange market only, and not affect the retail market nor have an impact on migrant remittances.
The proceeds of the CTL should benefit the health MDGs, most notably MDGs 4 and 5 on maternal and child health, which are seriously under-resourced, and Universal Access to HIV, TB and malaria prevention, treatment, care and support. The international community currently has the mechanisms in place to channel the funds and rapidly scale up interventions, (e.g., through the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and UNITAID).
The campaign is so far supported by the Africa Japan Forum, Japan; PLUS Coalition, France; Health GAP, USA; Family Care International, USA; International HIV/AIDS Alliance, UK; International Civil Society Support, Netherlands; Partners in Health, USA; Physicians for Human Rights, USA; RESULTS, USA; Stamp Out Poverty, UK; Stop AIDS Campaign, UK; Treatment Action Group, USA among others.
Published in:
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India
Media from Freedom, Nepal
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhan
Banderas News
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