International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has expressed concern about the US administration's plans to cut more than $500 million from its programme to help combat global HIV infection.

The organisation responsible for tackling HIV, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aims to treat more than six million people by the end of 2013 – two million more than the previous target.

But MSF is concerned how it will reach these objectives following a 13 per cent funding cut.

Budget figures outlined by the group show some major reductions in money set aside for Africa, including a nearly 50 per cent cut in funding for Kenya and 82 per cent for Ethiopia.

Jennifer Cohn, the East Africa Policy Advisor for the MSF Access Campaign, is anxious that countries which receive PEPFAR support may begin to scale back their own efforts to fight HIV prevalence.

"I think many problematic things might occur as a result of that, including decreases in treatment," she told Voice of America.

Posted by Martine Ward