Has Donor Prioritization of HIV/AIDS Control Crowded out Funding for Reproductive Health and Other Health Causes?

Jeremy Shiffman, Syracuse University

As attention by bilateral and multilateral donors to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS increases, advocates for other health issues affecting the poor have expressed concern that this prioritization may adversely affect funding for other health and population causes. The precise influence, however, has not been evaluated empirically. This paper attempts to do so. I calculate the amount of funding given by major bilateral and multilateral donors over sixteen years for six broad, historically prominent health agendas: HIV/AIDS prevention and control; reproductive health and population; the control of infectious diseases other than HIV/AIDS; basic healthcare; health sector strengthening; and nutrition. Preliminary results show that the picture is far from black and white. While crowding effects do appear to exist for the United States, when aid from all donors is considered, the increase for HIV/AIDS is less marked, and the decrease for other health and population causes less pronounced.