Question 4.
What are strategies to respond to the resource gap in the region?

To reach the goal of Universal Access, there is considerable gap in human and financial resources. However, there are promising developments in the resource front. The availability of funding for programmes has increased tremendously, thanks to the availability of Global Fund grants in the region, and increased World Bank financing of AIDS programmes in South Asia. There is a strong chance that PEPFAR, which has doubled its commitment to AIDS programmes, will provide assistance to a few more Asia countries in the next few years. Meanwhile, biliateral donors like DFID and AusAID are providing more resources at the regional level, making funds accessible to focused prevention programmes. It is important to make the money work, i.e. the money is spent on the right things and in the right way. Moreover, the region as a whole can well afford these investments. Even the peak resource need of US$5.1 billion annually for the years 2007-2010 is just 4 per cent of current regional health expenditure (2001).