MORE than 1,3 million Zimbabweans living with HIV and Aids and
on antiretroviral treatment might fail to access the life-saving drugs due to
government’s failure to mobilise US$6 million required to unlock donor funding.
This was revealed in a petition handed over to Parliament
last week by the Zimbabwe Aids Network on the failure by government to pay its
annual contribution of US$6 million to the Global Fund in order to access
US$400 million from the International Health Fund to buy antiretroviral drugs.
According to the petition, government has failed to
mobilise funds for procurement of the life-prolonging drugs at a time US$1
million was allegedly spent by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on travel alone in
under 30 days.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Tsitsi Gezi, told
parliamentarians on Thursday that the pressure group had raised the alarm over
the looming crisis and the matter has since been referred to thematic and
portfolio committees on HIV and Aids and Health and Child Care, respectively
for urgent attention.
But MDC MP and chair of the Health Committee, Ruth Labode,
said the situation was now dire and government should act swiftly to arrest the
looming health crisis.
“This issue has been raised here twice and the minister (of
Finance Mthuli Ncube) gave a response last time that he will respond and pay.
Those were his words. He said he will pay and right now, we are about to lose
almost US$400 million because we cannot pay US$6 million,” she said.
“Madam Speaker, twice I have raised on a point of privilege
that Zimbabwe committed itself to be part of the Global Fund. Right now, we are
lobbying to get $20 billion to control HIV, Malaria and TB from that US$20
billion. Our share as Zimbabwe has been US$400 million. One of the things we
committed ourselves to do is that we will meet our own counterpart in order for
us to be able to get that US$400 million. We will produce our own share as a
nation to show political commitment towards the fund, which was US$6 million,”
Labode said.
“Here we are now, we are desperate. I know there is a
letter which has been written to the Speaker from the National Aids Council
requesting something to be done as a matter of urgency. We have over two
million people on HIV drugs and we do not spend not even one cent as a nation
on HIV drugs, tinongomapiwa (we just get them for free). We desperately need to
do something, US$6 million ngaitsvagiwe (it must be sourced),” Labode said
Gezi then demanded that the leader of the House, who is
also Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, responds to the question.
In his response, Ziyambi said so far only US$2,9 million
has been mobilised.
“On Tuesday, I had an occasion of speaking to the Minister
of Finance with my counterpart, the Minister of Health (Obadiah Moyo) and he
indicated that he had paid US$2,9 million, but we then indicated that it is not
sufficient.
What is required is to pay the US$6 million so that we can
access the benefits. If we do not pay, it means that we will not be able to get
the ARVs as is being alluded to by Honourable Labode. He promised that he was
going to look into it and pay the amount. I will follow up and advise
accordingly,” Ziyambi said.
The development comes as HIV activists and people living
with HIV complained about shortages of ARVs and antibiotics in health centres
around the country, with Mashonaland West province being the most affected.
Patients also raised concern over issuance of expired drugs.
Early this year, then Health permanent secretary Gerald
Gwinji also warned that government was expecting a deficit in ARV drugs between
now and 2020 due to an increase in uptake of the HIV and Aids treatment
programme.
Gwinji revealed that 8 000 new patients access ARVs
monthly.
Government plans to reach the United Nations-set 90–90–90
ambitious treatment target to help end the Aids epidemic by 2020 will be
scuttled if Treasury fails to release the US$6 million contribution
To fight HIV and Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, the Global
Fund allocates additional resources in the form of grants to countries to
support their national initiatives.
As a condition of the grant, countries are required to
contribute a minimum percentage of the value of the grant as counterpart
financing depending on their rankings as low, middle or high income countries.
According to this policy, if a country fails to meet the
counterpart financing obligation, the Global Fund shall reduce the value of the
grant by 15%.
Zimbabwe is considered as a low-income country and is
required to contribute 5% of the value of the total grant as counterpart
financing.
The current grant (2018-2020) is US$483 980 512. Therefore,
the minimum required counterpart financing is US$24 199 026 over the three-year
period. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment