On the eve of World Malaria Day, the Japanese government agreed its first draft of its extra budget which would cut its entire 2011 contribution to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB. Japanese NGOs are urging the government to reconsider its decision. While the plans to cut the Fund's budget was a shock, the overall size of the ODA cuts outlined in the draft budget were not nearly as drastic as groups had feared. However, the cuts, coming out just days before the World Malaria Day, is bad news for those groups looking to increase financial support to tackle malaria.
According to AP, the Japanese government announced on Friday that it planned to cut its 2011 ODA budget by 50.1 billion yen, not the 570 billion yen rumoured. This is good news for Japanese NGOs, including GCAP Japan, Results Japan and JANIC, who have been lobbying the government not to cut ODA levels despite the Tsunami.
However, the government did announce it would cut ODA funding for the Global Fund for 2011, which has disappointed the HIV/AIDS advocacy groups African Japan Forum and the Japan AIDS & Society Associated which commented "If our country, which has been hit by unprecedented diasters, continues o aid the global fund, the world's confidence in Japan will be unshakable and that will become a long-lasting asset to us."
The government has indicated that this would only be a one year cut and it would resume its Global Fund contribution going forward.