The Obama administration proposed a 9 percent increase in funding for global health needs in its fiscal 2011 budget, pledging to spend more to combat preventable diseases and reduce deaths among women and children at a time when it is tightening its belt elsewhere.

President Barack Obama's request totals $9.6 billion for funds for the State Department, the US Agency for International Development, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Defense Department, the White House said. That compares with $8.8 billion enacted for fiscal 2010.

The bulk of the requested funding, about $7 billion, is for the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the massive program launched by President Bush in 2003.

That includes $5.74 billion for bilateral HIV/AIDS programs, a $1 billion contribution to the Global Fund and $251 million for bilateral tuberculosis programs. That compares with $6.8 billion in fiscal 2010, including $5.54 billion for bilateral HIV/AIDS programs, $1.05 billion for the Global Fund, and $246 million for TB.

While the requested contribution to the Global Fund is less than the amount given last year, it is $100 million more than the amount requested last year, officials said.