Executive Summary
A
fter years of increases, funding for HIV/AIDS from U.S.-based philanthropies was 5% lower in 2009 compared to 2008, with disbursements falling from $618 million to $585 million (a decrease of $33 million). This is the first year since FCAA began tracking disbursements (in 2005) that funding decreased. Commitments (funding budgeted to be spent in a given year but not necessarily disbursed in that year) also decreased, dropping by 12% between 2008 and 2009. Disbursements by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation represented 57% of all philanthropic HIV/AIDS giving in 2009, thus any change in their funding has a great effect on the overall total. Disbursements from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for HIV/AIDS decreased to $334 million in 2009, from $378 million in 2008. Disbursements from all other funders actually increased from $237 million to $252 million (or 5%) from 2008 to 2009. In the wake of the recent economic recession, flat or declining global and domestic government funding, and a growing need on the ground, any decrease is cause for concern. A recent report from UNAIDS and The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that funding for the global epidemic from donor country governments was essentially flat between 2008 to 2009, in contrast to prior increases in year-to-year funding since at least 2003.1 Similarly, the decrease found in HIV/AIDS funding from the philanthropic sector between 2008 to 2009 also contrasts with the previous five years of year-to-year increases, and will need to be monitored closely to assess how it affects the HIV/AIDS response. Key overall findings and highlights for 2009 include:
• Total disbursements (funding expended) from U.S.-based philanthropies decreased from $618
million to $585 million (or 5%) from 2008 to 2009. Total commitments (funding budgeted to be spent) also decreased, from $417 million to $367 million (or 12%).
• This decrease departs from prior year trends in which funding increased steadily since 2005,
reaching its peak in 2008. Compared to 2005, disbursements by U.S.-based philanthropies were 81% higher in 2009 for all funders (from $293 million in 2005 to $532 million in 2009). However, over this five-year period, disbursements peaked in 2008 at $570 million.2
• Funding for HIV/AIDS from the philanthropic sector is highly concentrated among a relatively small number of funders, with the top 10 funders accounting for 83% of all HIV/AIDS-related disbursements in 2009. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alone accounts for 57% of all disbursements.
• Corporate funders represented 18% ($106 million) of total 2009 disbursements (a slight
increase from 16%, or $100 million, in 2008) and 45% of all HIV/AIDS-related philanthropic funding from funders other than the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
1 UNAIDS and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Financing the Response to AIDS in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: International Assistance from the G8, European Commission and Other Donor Governments in 2009. July 2010. Available at: www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/7347-06.pdf 2 For funders for which five years of funding data (2005–2009) are available. (These funders’ 2009 total represents 89% of all funding in 2009.)
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Funders Concerned about aids