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Last year the world spent about $13 billion to fight AIDS, and there are warnings from many quarters that the funding is entering a period of stagnation. But in a presentation today at the Global Health Council’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., an economist predicted that spending in 20 years could rise well above current levels, ranging from $19 billion to $35 billion a year.And that’s precisely why donors and recipients need to engage in serious discussions now about the AIDS response and who will be paying what, said Robert Hecht, managing director at Results for Development Institute, a Washington-based group of development experts.Paul Bouey, U.S. deputy global AIDS co-ordinator, told an audience of 150 people that those discussions were well underway.Bouey said that the research, done under the auspices of the AIDS 2031 group, “lays out that there is a huge global need and there must be a huge global response. We get caught up in the short-term funding needs too often. And that brings us to these conversations we’re having currently with the countries.“How do we support longer-term needs of countries? How do we correctly balance our response? We need to move much more closely with the countries’ priorities,” he said.Still, two African leaders in the AIDS field — David Apuuli, director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission, and Benson Chirwa, director general of the National AIDS Council in Zambia – expressed concern about whether the international funding would last, leaving them vulnerable with a growing number of people on AIDS treatment and little resources to pay for them.“I think we are heading for a crisis,Cheap Jerseys From China,’’ Apuuli said. “Not only my country, but neighbouring countries, Kenya and Tanzania, as the amount of money flattens and the number of those who need treatment rises. The money required for those who need it is way beyond the budgets in these countries.’’Hecht presented forecasts that showed in 20 years many countries’ AIDS bill would be less than 1 percent of projected GDP, but in some Eastern and Southern African countries,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, the bill would be 3 to 4 percent of GDP – a staggering amount for poor countries.Chirwa’s response: “We should no longer be talking about a global pandemic, but focused epidemics,’’ he said. “I am advocating that where the epidemic is worse, that’s where the money should go. The funders should focus their money in these countries, including Zambia.’’But where is the money going to come from?Moderator David de Ferranti, president and founder of Results for Development,Cheap Jerseys China, tried to steer panelists toward this point. “Can we raise that much money?’’ he asked them. “Can the gap be closed? And if we can’t, where are we headed?’’Bouey replied: “Those are some of the toughest questions. It comes down to looking at efficiencies, how do we actually ensure that things are (having an impact.) In some cases, that may mean reducing the supply chain from four systems to one system; in another, it may mean getting more generic drugs in place. And with prevention, we are targeting what are known prevention strategies to more effectively get resources to those places.’’Alvaro Bermejo, executive director of International HIV/AIDS Alliance, who also served as a member of an aids 2031 working group,Cheap NFL Jerseys, said during the question-and-answer session that AIDS advocates were missing an opportunity not pushing for a dedicated levy from financial transactions to fund global AIDS efforts. “We are giving up the fight before we even start,’’ he said.Peter Piot, the former UNAIDS executive director who headed the AIDS2031 efforts,Wholesale Jerseys, also asked the panel whether each had launched a debate on “these tough choices ahead.’’Last year, the US spent $285 million to fight AIDS in Uganda,NFL Jerseys Authentic, according to US figures. That accounted for 70 percent of all AIDS funding in the country.