1. Provide the title of your story or series and the names of the journalists involved.
Aids Funding: The Price of Success Merrill Schwerin: Producer / Project Director Ray Suarez: Senior Correspondent Denis Levkovich: Cameraman/Editor Talea Miller: Reporter / Producer Catherine Wise: Reporter/Producer
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
23-Nov-10
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
AIDS Funding: The Price of Success Ten years after the United States pledged millions to stop the AIDS death march in Africa, government and health officials are confronting a more philosophical problem: success. Now that over 5 million people with HIV are on lifesaving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), and will continue to be for the rest of their lives, how do governments make room for the millions of new HIV cases each year which require more funds for treatment? A shortage of international donations, coupled with a flat-lining of AIDS funding by the Obama Administration, has begun to translate into antiretroviral shortages on the ground. The PBS NewsHour's global health team, lead by Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez and Producer Merrill Schwerin, traveled to Mozambique this fall to look at how the global funding shortages are playing out. In Mozambique, one out of eight adults is infected with HIV. And although the first infections were discovered there two decades ago, HIV is still on the rise. To date, the United States has given $836 million to Mozambique for HIV programs. Millions are now living on lifesaving drugs purchased with those funds. But as a former Ambassador to South Africa said in our piece, the U.S. "is caught in this terrible dilemma." The funds are taking up "a larger share of not only of our international health budget, but of our total foreign aid budget. And when you try and slow that down, you're accused of condemning people to death." The number of people signing up for ARVs in Mozambique now outpaces the drugs available. When our reporting team showed up at health clinics, we found mothers waiting all day for ARVs for their young children, only to be told no drugs were available. Our report asks the tricky moral question: Is the United States obligated to continue providing these lifesaving drugs when a worldwide recession means other countries and international organizations are reducing their aid? What is the ethical obligation of local governments to step up to the plate? We posed these important questions to President Obama's Global Aids Coordinator, Mozambique's former Health Minister, and HIV/AIDS advocates, while also giving voice to Mozambicans who face an uncertain future if ARVs run out.
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The May 2010 Doctors Without Borders report "No Time to Quit: HIV/AIDS Treatment Gap Widening in Africa" was a helpful resource. And we learned a great deal from testimony at the September 2010 House Foreign Relations Committee hearing "FROM EMERGENCY TO SUSTAINABILITY AND ADVANCES AGAINST HIV/AIDS".
5. Explain types of human sources used.
Because there have been few in-depth media reports on this topic, we had numerous background conversations with HIV/AIDS experts in the U.S. and Mozambique while researching this report. Doctors Without Borders staff were very helpful, as were our contacts at USAID and the Ministry of Health in Mozambique.
6. Results (if any).
This report generated feedback from viewers who were either very supportive of increases in U.S. AIDS/HIV funding, or felt it was time to cut back.
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections have been made to this story.
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Broadcast journalists working in Mozambique have to apply for filming permits from the Ministry of Information (GABINFO). It's important to have a good local fixer who can help you make contacts and navigate local requirements in Mozambique. Our contacts with NGO's on the ground were also very important.