Government must take bold action on Aids war

As we observe World Aids Day today, there could never be better news emerging from the US regarding HIV and Aids funding. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled on Thursday what she called a new “blueprint for an Aids-Free Generation”. 

Premised on the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), it provides the roadmap for what the US will do to achieve an Aids-free generation.

Equally important, it calls upon the world to share responsibility to reach this goal. The blue print is driven by five key principles that are the foundation of Pepfar work with partner countries.

They include making strategic and scientifically sound investments to rapidly scale-up core HIV prevention, treatment and care interventions, and maximise impact. But why should this news be important and relevant to Kenya? Well, the US is the biggest supporter of HIV and Aids projects in Kenya, contributing billions of shillings annually through Pepfar and Global Fund.

Anxiety had gripped the nation early this year following reports that Sh42 billion was lying unremitted in the US Government coffers after Kenya failed to claim it due largely to wrangling between the two ministries of health and inherent bureaucratic inefficiencies in Government.

The other culprit countries included Tanzania with $149 million unclaimed assets, Ethiopia $138 million, Mozambique $130 million, and Zambia $91 million. 

This brings the amount of money being delayed to $1billion (Sh38 trillion). But now that the US has issued the clearest indication ever that it is willing to continue funding the programme, it is upon the Government to put its house in order to ensure these funds reach the people that need it most and get more people on anti-retroviral treatment.

Nearly $1.5 billion has accumulated unspent in the US’ global Aids programme financial pipeline. About Sh42 billion of this is allocated to Kenya, but has not been disbursed even as people continue to die. It is estimated that Kenya has 1.5 million people living with HIV.

Only 500,000 are already receiving life-sustaining HIV treatment. Treatment coverage is even lower for children, now standing at a mere 34 per cent of those in need.

Kenya faces large gaps in treatment coverage to meet its national target of one million on ARVs by 2015. Nonetheless, when Pepfar’s Kenya office submitted its proposed work plan for the coming year, US officials in Kenya did not plan to use the billions of unspent shillings to increase the pace of HIV treatment next year.

This is a tragedy because money remains unused while Kenyans living with HIV get sick and die because they do not receive treatment.

On World Aids Day in December last year, Minister for Special Programmes Esther Mirugi and US President Barack Obama made historic, complementary announcements that they would step up the pace of enrolling people on Aids treatment.

Ms Murugi promised that the Government would commit to more than double the numbers on anti-retroviral treatments (ART) by 2015, while President Obama pledged to support six million people on HIV treatment globally by next year through Pepfar.

However, stagnating HIV treatment enrolments threaten these promises. When The Standard On Saturday spoke to him early this year, the head of National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme Peter Cherutich confirmed the country was experiencing severe gaps in HIV treatment and prevention. 

He said there was need to inject more cash into treatment and prevention programmes to meet the country’s targets. 

The goal is to put a million people on treatment by 2015. But now that the US has reaffirmed its commitment to continue funding ART provision through Pepfar, the ball is in the Government’s court to make such offers count.