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Zimbabwe denied money from Global Fund to fight Aids
By Dr P. Chimedza
The Global Fund was established in 2001 to
fight TB, malaria, HIV and Aids wherever these diseases occur around the world.
Zimbabwe is unfortunate to be inflicted by all the three conditions. One
would expect that distribution of the Global Fund monies will be according to
the burden of disease, meaning that those countries which are more affected get
more money to enable them fight these diseases.
Unfortunately, the
people running the fund at the moment have a "fairer" way of distributing these
funds and that is according to which side of the political coin a country falls.
The Zimbabwe Medical Association at its historic annual congress held in
Victoria Falls (August 19-22 2004) decided to break the silence on this
important issue.
Zimbabwe has been constantly and systematically denied
money from the Global Fund to fight HIV and Aids for reasons best known to the
fundâs Technical Review Panel (TRP) and board of directors.
To put
things into perspective for those not familiar with the issue, Zimbabwe in 2002
put its application to the Global Fund. It applied for US$8,8 million for
malaria and US$14,1 million for HIV and Aids.
The proposals were so well
put that it would have been criminal to reject them. The applications were
approved for both malaria and HIV and Aids at the end of 2002. Since then our
Government has been battling to get these approved funds. Out of the US$8,8
million approved for malaria, Zimbabwe only received a paltry US$1,4 million and
for HIV and Aids we are still chasing our tails and there is no hope for us ever
getting this money.
Initially, we thought there were too many strings
attached to the release of these funds but we have since discovered that they
are not strings but ropes attached. The money was initially supposed to have
been received by the National Aids Council (NAC), but the Global Fundâs TRP and
board said NAC had no capacity to handle US$14,1 million despite the fact that
they receive millions from the fiscus every month.
It was then agreed
that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) be made the principal
recipient on behalf of Zimbabwe, but the money is still to come. Zimbabwe was
again told that the fund portfolio manager for some countries in Southern
Africa, a Mr Lee Obomeghie, would be in the country during our HIV and Aids
congress to give us our monies, but he failed to turn up and sent a message that
Zimbabwe had been re-classified as a "risky country" and should be re-assessed
to see its suitability to receive the funds. So almost two years down the line,
money applied for in round one and approved has still not been disbursed.
Meanwhile, millions of people still get infected or die of HIV and Aids everyday
in this country while the fund managers are watching. When round two of
applications came, Zimbabwe was still battling to get its approved monies, so it
didnât put in another application.
When round three came Zimbabwe put in
another application, this time for US$218 million for HIV and Aids. Just to make
sure things were done correctly, some of the best consultants from WHO and
UNAids were employed to assist our technical teams prepare the proposals.
Successful proposals from Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique and
Tanzania were thoroughly studied so mistakes could be minimised but this time
our application was rejected outright and we were asked to appeal. The outcome
of the appeal is a foregone conclusion, we will not get the money.
Everyone in Zimbabwe is affected or infected by HIV and Aids. Aids is
everyoneâs business. Those who have put up a spirited performance to get this
money have now realised that Zimbabweans are being sacrificed on the political
altar. The powers that be are deliberately withholding funds so that they can
gleefully watch Zimbabweans die. This has nothing to do with the way our
proposals are being written (a consultant from the moon will not get money for
Zimbabwe released from this fund) or who is going to receive the money (even
UNDP is not being given the money on behalf of Zimbabwe). But everything is very
political. People are being allowed to die because of politics and the people
who purport to be champions of human rights are doing this.
HIV and Aids
is mainly an African disease, Sub-Saharan Africa in general and Southern Africa
in particular. Around two million people were living with HIV and Aids in
Zimbabwe by the end of 2003 and the figure continues to increase.
Around
200 000 Zimbabweans died of HIV in 2003 alone and many continue to die every
single day. Unhealthy and impoverished children do not learn well and sick
adults cannot earn a living. Therefore, improving health is not only a desirable
outcome of sustainable development, especially in the era of HIV and Aids, it is
a means of achieving it.
It will be hard to achieve our economic
turnaround when we have sick people on the factory floors or sick people tilling
the land. Western countries are not affected by the HIV and Aids pandemic in the
same way as us. The pandemic is virtually non-existent there. This is why they
play around with peopleâs lives because they probably have no friends or
relatives who have died of HIV and Aids.
Zimbabweans need to stand
together and highlight the injustice, inequality and basic human rights abuses
that many of these countries in the West are inflicting on those of us with the
epidemic. HIV and Aids is killing more people in Zimbabwe more than the Rwandan
genocide ever did and yet these people at the Global Fund prefer to merely
watch. We cannot help but feel a sense of deja vu here.
These same
people will make brisk business, setting up tribunals, commissions of inquiry
into what happened, lessons learnt from the Zimbabwean Aids situations, maybe
even condemn themselves in retrospect after the damage is done, but we know too
well that we will all probably be dead by then, and this will not be of any
benefit to any of us at all.
The global imbalance in access to health
care and in particular access to this Global Fund is obscene. The feelings and
actions of injustice and the immense inequalities have become as important as
the epidemic itself. Zimbabweans from all walks of life, from all political
persuasions, should stand up together and tell the world loudly and clearly that
them being denied funds to fight the epidemic is deplorable, downright unjust
and is the most gross abuse of human rights. We need to scorch a new path in
awareness, education and social mobilisation on this issue. Letâs push these
people at the Global Fund out of their comfort zones. They should not be allowed
to feel good when they are not doing good. Zimbabweans around the world (and
there are lots of them) should tell whoever cares to listen that Zimbabwe is
being denied Aids money due to political reasons.
There are countries
with a political dispensation which cannot even compare to ours, their leaders
came to power by military coups, they donât even have as much HIV and Aids cases
as Zimbabwe, but because they joined the "coalition of the willing" money is
pouring on them like water from Cyclone Eline. I attended one of the WHO
regional workshops in Harare last month and some colleagues from some countries
said they had received too much money, much more than they could use and
certainly more than they needed. So much about equitable distribution of
resources.
Despite being discriminated against, Zimbabwe has made
tremendous effort in rolling back the HIV and Aids pandemic. We were one of the
first countries to start an ARV programme in the public sector, one month ahead
of even South Africa. Zimbabwe is one of the first, if not the only country,
where generic HIV drugs are being manufactured in Africa.
We have an
Aids levy and National Aids Council. Opportunistic infections clinics have
already been set up at the two central hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo and they
are already giving anti-retroviral drugs. A lot of health personnel â doctors,
pharmacists and nurses â have been trained in HIV management and are busy
setting up opportunistic infections clinics around the country.
The
Reserve Bank governor has promised to avail US$1 million for drugs and re-agents
used in labs to monitor HIV and Aids. This will certainly have a domino effect
when we start rolling out ARV use in the districts and provinces. We are moving
ahead with zeal and commitment to save our people under very difficult
conditions. Zimbabweans will never be sitting ducks, we fight when it becomes
necessary.
We demand that the Global Fund be just and fair in the
allocation of its funds. Zimbabweans should speak with one voice on this one.
l Dr P. Chimedza is a medical practitioner with a special interest in
HIV and Aids. He is the current secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Medical
Association( ZiMA). He is actively involved in National Training in HIV
management and running opportunistic infections clinics. He can be reached at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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