France to cut funds to UN Aids agency
French NGOs working in the field of HIV-Aids are outraged that France is to cut its budget to the UN body helping people living with HIV by 25 per cent.
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Unitaid, which is hosted by the UN's World Health Organisation, was set up in 2006 by France, Brazil, Chile, Norway and the United Kingdom.
It specialises in reducing prices for the treatment of malaria, HIV and tuberculosis and helps children with HIV in particular.
France's contribution is about 110 million euros per year but last week the French foreign ministry announced that in 2015 France's contribution will be reduced by 25 million euros.
The cut is partly due to the government's economic austerity policies and partly beacuse of a reallocation of funds to the fight the Ebola virus.
The French contribution comes from a micro-tax on airplane tickets which generates 110 million euros and which up until now has been handed over to Unitaid in its entirety.
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