Concerned about cuts in India’s national HIV/AIDS budgets, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates says the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) “will be glad to raise its voice and say that it is a mistake”. He says it is time for everyone involved in the health sector to think about a vision for future, as the current design for India’s health system is not working.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu , Mr. Gates said: “Many, many, many voices should speak out,” if funds available for the HIV/AIDS programme were slashed.
This comes in the backdrop of a nearly 20 per cent cut in the funds available to the Department of AIDS Control (DAC), which had expected a budget of Rs. 1,785 crore for 2015-16, but was allocated Rs. 1,397 crore.
The reduction had jeopardised the expansion of the fourth phase of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP-IV). India has nearly 2.09 million people living with HIV/AIDS, according to 2011 estimates.
Speaking about the general lack of funds for health, Mr. Gates said the sector was under-resourced. “Every time I come to India, I have a general discussion about increasing health budgets. Don’t you feel pressure from the voters? My personal opinion is that the Indian health sector needs more resources. I believe it is under-funded. Currently, the cuts in the HIV budget were a concern but I have been assured that the funds will be restored,” he said.
Mr. Gates said drug stock-outs in any HIV programme would be disastrous. “In HIV, it is important to adhere to drug use. Drug stock-outs are a disaster for HIV, it affects your health outcomes quite a bit. There is no miracle here that the HIV budget can be cut and people can still get the treatment they deserve. That HIV budget should be preserved,” he said.
Asked about the vision for India’s healthcare system in the next five years, he said: “Everybody involved in this healthcare system needs to think what our vision is here.” The problem of high out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses — the money spent on treatment that is not reimbursed by insurance — incurred by Indian patients needed to be addressed.
