The significant progress Zimbabwe has made in reducing HIV is in danger of being eroded if donors pull out and alternative funding is not sought, a senior National Aids Council official has warned.
Zimbabwe has made huge gains in reducing HIV in people aged 15-49, with national prevalence falling from around 23% in 2000 to 14.3% in 2010
Mr Albert Manenji, financial director at the National AIDS Council, said: “A lot can be done to improve the country’s HIV funding programmes. Local funding is more flexible than donated money.
“Although progress has been made in halting HIV through the AIDS levy, which is a public funding [mechanism] regarded as a best practice by the Southern African development community (SADC) and global levels, demand for resources continues to outstrip the resources available and that needs to be addressed.”
Zimbabwe’s AIDS levy
The AIDS levy is currently paid by workers in formal employment. Many analysts argue that everyone should contribute towards the levy. Mr. Manenji echoed these sentiments and urged the government to broaden the tax base to include those working in the informal sector, which employs about 70% of Zimbabwe’s productive population who currently do not contribute to the AIDS levy.
“It’s critical to tap this sector for it to contribute to the national programme because everyone is either affected or infected by the disease and its proper to share responsibilities,” added Manenji.
Filling the donor gap in the HIV response
For the period 2009 to 2011 the government of Zimbabwe received US $ 48.3 million under its Expanded Support Programme (ESP) and US $106.3 million from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis yet both funders are winding up current funding in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
Faced with such a scenario Manenji said the only way for Zimbabwe to move forward in its HIV response is to harness the potential presented by Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). PPPs are defined as involvement of the private sector in government projects that have a public benefit or methods of cooperation between private and government bodies.
“PPPs will help decongest the public ART services and improve the quality of care. Above all, companies will increase production as workers do not spent time in bed,” Manenji said.
Zimbabwe’s HIV response
Manenji reiterated NAC’s goals to halve new HIV infections by 2015 and to increase access of antiretroviral therapy (ART) services to 75% of all adults and 100% of children with advanced HIV.
He said it was encouraging to note that new HIV infections dropped from 66,000 in 2009 to 47,450 in 2011. More than 476, 000 people were on ART as of the end of April this year out of the estimated 563,944 people in need.
Manenji added that children orphaned due to AIDS are estimated to be one million while Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) coverage stands at around 96%. Around 64% of the general population have now been tested and counselled for HIV.
Manenji made the comments at a breakfast meeting between the Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) and the National AIDS Council (NAC), held in the capital Harare.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Dr Apollo Mutasa urged stakeholders to share information, particularly in the SADC region, in order to lessen the burden of ART services.
“SADC should come up together with a system of bulk purchasing as to reduce cost of ARVs. This can only be achieved if there is an information pool. We must have uniform price of ARVs,” said Dr Mutasa.