ITPC’s Missing the Target exposes impact of COVID -19 on HIV treatment access costs in Brazil, Indonesia, Uganda, USA and other countries.

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MTT 13 Global Analysis

During 2020 and 2021, a novel coronavirus morphed from a local outbreak into a pandemic, reaching 30 countries in its first months after becoming locally established and leading to the death of 23 million people by September 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic and the response, including travel restrictions, population lockdowns, and other disruptions, caused median global gross domestic product to drop by 3.9% from 2019 to 2020, making it the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, governments rapidly allocated and spent massive amounts of funding for research, services, and economic stability.  

Where did the money go? Was funding well spent? 

“Missing the Target” is the 13th report produced by ITPC since 2005, and the first MTT report that engaged with government resource accountability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report is a retrospective analysis looking back at the first two years of government’s response to COVID-19 focusing on strengths, successes, failed strategic and political decisions, and the disbursement as well as management of funds. It highlights the experience and perspectives of advocates in multiple countries to document progress toward global commitments for health, development and human rights. 

This “Missing The Target” (MTT) report was produced by ITPC (the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition) in collaboration with researchers and advocates at IDEC (Brazil), Yayasan Peduli Hati Bangsa (Indonesia), CEHURD (Uganda), Afya na Haki (Uganda), Matahari Global Solutions (United Kingdom), and PrEP4All (United States). It exposes the impact of COVID-19 on HIV treatment access costs in Brazil, Indonesia, Uganda, USA, & other countries.  

Across 18 countries, partners found and documented the ways that resource allocations and expenditures intended for the COVID-19 response were (and are) challenging to track and seldom accountable for impact or achieving intended goals. Where goals were articulated, this report found structural challenges that undermined effective use of resources, and documented how, in the face of these issues and amidst colliding pandemics, civil society continued to hold governments accountable and improve country pandemic responses. 

MTT report’s implications are relevant for the future of pandemic preparedness and response, which should involve communities. The gaps identified in the context of COVID-19 can and should be rectified now to strengthen readiness for surges in COVID-19 and to ensure that emergent outbreaks and future threats are better contained. 

The MTT 13 report is available for: