EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL: Thursday, November 20, 2008

FCAA Media Contact: Sarah Hamilton, Development & Communications
Manager, Phone: (718) 875-0251x205, E-mail: sarah@fcaaids.org

EFG Media Contact: Erika Baehr, Consultant, Phone: (617) 987-0095, E-mail: erikabaehr@gmail.com

***New Reports Document Increased Philanthropic Efforts in the U.S. and Europe to Address the Global AIDS Epidemic***

       

• In 2007 disbursements from U.S.-based philanthropies increased 10% over 2006. The majority of the 2007 disbursements (80%, or $446 million) were devoted to the international epidemic.  A significant share of U.S. funding for the international epidemic was channeled to agencies based in the U.S. and Canada (45%); one-third (33%) went to organizations based in sub-Saharan Africa.
• An increased share of U.S.-based funders  provided funding exclusively to address the domestic epidemic in 2007 (45% compared to 35% in 2006). As in previous years, the Northeast Region of the U.S. received a considerable share of all U.S. domestic funding (44%). Increased funding is needed in all regions of the U.S., including in Southern states which continue to account for the greatest number of new AIDS diagnoses and the largest number of people living with AIDS.
• Most European funders (94%) devoted some or all of their giving to addressing HIV/AIDS outside of EU countries. In 2007, 47% of European HIV/AIDS philanthropic funding aimed at addressing the AIDS epidemic outside of EU countries was given to organizations based in Sub-Saharan Africa, 10% was given to organizations based in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 5% was given to organizations based in Asia and Oceania, 3% to organizations in Latin America, 1% to organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, and 1% to organizations in the Caribbean.
• In 2007, 6% of European HIV/AIDS philanthropies focused exclusively on HIV/AIDS projects within EU countries, and 19% of all European HIV/AIDS philanthropic expenditures were devoted to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic within Western and Central Europe.
• New for 2007, organizations were asked to identify the top population groups that receive the greatest benefit from their domestic and international funding.
  • People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) were identified most frequently as chief beneficiaries of both domestic and international philanthropy by both U.S.-and Europe-based funders.
  • For U.S.-based funders, those with an international focus also identified the following groups, in rank order, as chief beneficiaries of their funding: women, youth, and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). For domestic funding, other groups identified were African-Americans, women, youth, Latinos, and gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM).
  • While new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate 53% of new HIV infections in the U.S. in 2006 were among gay men and MSM, only a third of domestic U.S.-based funders identified this group as a top beneficiary of their organization's giving.
  • For Europe-based funders, other beneficiary population groups identified were OVC, women, and youth, which correspond to the populations in need in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Europe-based organizations that fund EU countries tended to list MSM and injecting drug users as target populations of their funding, which correspond to the populations in need in EU countries.