Squeezed by austerity measures at home, traditional donor funding for global health has slowed considerably in the wake of the global financial crisis. After rising markedly in the 2000s, development assistance for health reached $31.3 billion in 2013 — up by just 1 percent from 2011.
Amid signs that pressures on aid budgets are easing, U.S. and European donors are putting the onus on host governments to finance more of their own health needs. Case in point: The United States has set in motion plans to transition the financial and managerial burden for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — the single-largest global health program — to host governments.
Undeterred by slowing growth, emerging donors seem to be moving in the opposite direction. While they are still massively outspent by U.S. and European donors, emerging donors, which include the BRIC economies, have been steadily increasing their funding and engagement in global health. Most recently, both China and India have pledged millions in contributions to the Ebola response.