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Thirty years since the onset of the HIV epidemic, the global community has achieved
many significant milestones to combat the disease thanks to an unprecedented financial
commitment for the cause. However, some argue that the disproportionately large disease-specific
funding creates a parallel funding structure, which may hinder the necessary integration
between different health agendas. One key issue is the lack of integration between
HIV and family planning/reproductive health services. Despite the natural and substantive
link, the existing literature suggests that the expansion of HIV program may be at
the expense of critical family planning programs. This paper seeks to examine the
claim that there may be a negative linkage between HIV/AIDS funding and family planning
efforts. The author first observes the extent of family planning needs in countries
with high HIV prevalence rates and finds that in ten countries worst hit by the epidemic,
1 in 4 women do not have access to contraceptives despite their desire to use contraception.
The author then uses the difference-in-differences method to study the changes in
Family Planning Efforts index (measured by the Futures Group) in 41 HIV-endemic countries
by the amount of HIV aid received relative to each country’s Gross National Income.
These analyses repeatedly suggest that countries receiving a large sum of HIV aid
relative to their national economy perform worse in family planning efforts over time
compared to the countries receiving smaller sums of HIV aid. This paper also includes
case studies of Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Vietnam to provide qualitative dimensions and
to present policy implications. This is a preliminary research connecting HIV/AIDS
funding and its effect on family planning efforts. Future research is critical to
comprehensively understand the linkage between the two factors and to develop effective
ways for integration.
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