Groups call for local fund to fight Aids

By Ally Jamah

The Government has been urged to speedily establish a local fund to fight Aids instead of relying on external donors.

Local and International Aids experts attending a conference in Nairobi warned that lives may be lost if no local funding mechanisms are set up once donor taps run dry in the next few years.

This call comes after the Global Fund for Fighting Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced recently that it will no longer fund Aids programmes in Kenya due to funding shortfalls from industrialised countries.

Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi said the Government is working to set up a local fund from taxpayers money to end donor dependence in the fight against the scourge.

"A substantial proportion of funding for HIV/Aids mitigation in Kenya has been from external donors. The Government is working to ensure that funding is locally available as it looks for homegrown solution," she said yesterday at a Nairobi hotel.

But plans to establish the local fund appear to be far off since the proposal is yet to be tabled before Cabinet several years after the idea was first floated by the minister.

According to the proposal, the fund will get 1 per cent of Government income from taxes to finance the fight against Aids. Currently the Government spends about Sh900 million on HIV programmes.

The Aids workshop brings together international experts to draw a roadmap on enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of HIV/Aids funds currently available.

Ms Murugi said the war on Aids is far from over with 120,000 new infections reported every year while 36 million Kenyans still don’t know their HIV status. She called for an evaluation of Aids programmes to ascertain whether the funds are benefiting the affected people.

"There is need to conduct operational research to ensure our programmes are effective and efficient in delivering services to affected people," she said.

The International Aids Society’s (IAS) President Elly Katabira said The Global Fund is going through a funding squeeze and it is essential to use funds more efficiently to achieve maximum impact. IAS Deputy Executive Director Mats Ahnlund said local resources will ensure sustainable funding of Anti-Aids programmes.