The global fund to fight HIV, TB and Malaria has postponed the round eleven grant making process to countries like Uganda following a financial down turn which has forced donors to restrain from giving there money to the fund.
This came up in a recent meeting in Accra Ghana where the committee members realized the fund has been seriously affected by the financial down turn and thus effectively cancelled its next round of grant making saying it is unable to hand out new grants to countries for disease-fighting programs because of an acute shortage of money, but will support ‘essential needs’
Speaking to Daily Monitor on phone the ministry of health permanent secretary Dr. Asuman Lukwago said that Uganda’s performance is still below but suspension of round eleven does not mean that global fund has halted its operations in Uganda.
“To Uganda the fund postponed round eleven grants but has given assurance that in case of failure of government to effectively operationalize the program, it will give some little money to us up to 2015 but on the whole we are getting less compared to other countries in the region” said Mr. Lukwago
He also added that, “It is not only Uganda, but the fund in Geneva has told all member countries not to put in new applications for funding for round eleven. It is offering a transitional funding mechanism, which will allow countries to ask for money to cover essential needs. In recognition of the danger of stopping HIV treatment, this should allow countries to continue to supply drugs to people who are already taking them”
The fund has been waiting in vain for financial help from donors ever since its big renewal meeting in New York a year ago failed to deliver the sums hoped for. It wanted 20 billion dollars but only got 11.7 billion dollars. in spite of exhortations to donors to pledge more money from the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who warned that the stakes were high and that more lives would be lost if pressure on the killer diseases was not maintained.
UGANDA IN RELATION TO OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION
While other regional states get a lot of money from the Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and malaria Uganda still gets the least amount over what technocrats call mismanagement of the earlier grants about seven years ago.
According to Prof. Vinand Nantulya the chairman Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) Ethiopia got 1.2 billion dollars from the global fund to fight HIV, TB and malaria, Tanzania was given 1 billion, Kenya gets 800 million dollars and Rwanda receives 600 million dollars and Uganda only parts with a mare 300 million dollars.
He also attributes the cut in the funding to the earlier mismanagement of the fund.
“We have suffered enough and lost a lot. 300 million dollars in nothing. Tanzania has got one billion dollars from the global fund, Kenya got 800 million dollars, and Rwanda got 600 million dollars. Because they are using the money well and with proper accountability and results to show that money is being used properly. But now see what mismanagement has cost Uganda” said Mr. Nantulya, a former senior health advisor and chief advisor to the executive director of the global fund, Geneva for more than three years.
At the launch of the round ten malaria and TB grant recently at Kampala Serena Mr. Nantulya who is also the chairman of the country coordinating mechanism (CCM) a global fund oversight committee, added that Uganda also falls victim of slow absorption of some rounds due to delayed procurements and low responsiveness to Global fund requirements sighting an example of the first phase of round six of the TB grant. Which was for the long term institutional arrangement and the excessive caution taken caused delays and ultimately the under performance of the grant
“The application for round nine was unsuccessful and we did not apply for round eight and now the round eleven has been cancelled, ” he said.
However, he was quick to add that the signing of the round ten Malaria and TB grant worth 78.5 million dollars which is about 600 billion shillings is a sure sign that Uganda has opened a new page on which the global fund and the public must have confidence that things are going to change for the better where by with the new wave of funding, new strategies are already drawn to reduce the HIV, TB and malaria burden in the country by 2015.
“Setting up a solid CCM means a number of things to happen and one of them is that we already have two principle recipients, one is the ministry of finance on behalf of government and TASO on behalf of civil society organisations. We are also targeting to reduce the infection rate by at least a half, we must see the number of children born with HIV going down, we expect to see a change in the behavior of people which leads to safe sexual practices, we expect to see the leadership back in the fight against HIV as a way of ‘turning off the tap’. We expect to see a lot of activity taking place” he added.
ALSO IMPORTANT
2005 year of global fund suspension in Uganda and by then Uganda was on five hence missing round six and now round eleven
78.5 US million dollars received in the round ten grant to work on health systems strengthening, TB and Malaria.
2 the number of years the grant is expected to run while government negotiates another 130 million dollars to finance HIV/Aids interventions for the next three years.
300,000 Ugandans receive free HIV treatment while another 600000 need to be recruited on the program.
2.2 million Ugandans tested for HIV last year and of these 40 percent were re-tests.
Malaria transmission is perennial and highly endemic in over 95 percent of the country with transmission rates varying from moderate to high.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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