|
Back to Index
Global Fund deadline missed
PlusNews
November 06, 2008
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=81337
The future of
Zimbabwe's AIDS programmes hangs in the balance after the government
failed to meet the deadline of Thursday 6 November to return over
US$7 million to the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Earlier this week, executive
director of the Fund Michel Kazatchkine warned that no future grants
from the aid agency would be awarded until the remaining US$7.3
million had been transferred to commercial banks by the due date.
This did not happen,
despite assurances from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). "The
Reserve Bank has failed to meet the deadline and they have asked
to be given a little while longer. This doesn't reflect very well
on Zimbabwe," said Jon Liden, the Global Fund's spokesman.
The aid agency has five
ongoing grants in Zimbabwe worth US$88 million, and disbursed just
over US$39 million between 2004 and 2007, helping to enrol 13,000
people in AIDS treatment programmes and supply 330,000 insecticide-treated
bed nets to combat malaria.
Some of the money was
held by the RBZ, but was distributed "erratically and only
partially", which had affected the implementation of programmes,
the Fund said.
Although there was no
evidence of fraud, the Global Fund will not be disbursing any more
funds to Zimbabwe until it can "come with some guarantees that
can make us comfortable that this will not happen again", Liden
told IRIN/PlusNews.
"Given the complexities
of the hyperinflationary environment and the lack of confidence
in the Central Bank, we could look at having as little cash in the
country as possible, with implementers accessing the funds without
going through the banking system."
The failure to meet the
deadline came a day before the Global Fund's board of directors
are to meet in New Delhi, India, to decide on whether to approve
funding applications from Zimbabwe and other countries.
Zimbabwe's application
for about US$300 million for HIV/AIDS, US$58 million for its TB
programme, and US$80 million to revive the ailing health sector
was found to be "technically sound", and was widely expected
to be approved by the board.
Health Minister Dr David
Parirenyatwa, who also heads the body responsible for drawing up
funding proposals, expressed concern over the effects of a possible
grant refusal on the country's AIDS efforts.
"We are eagerly
waiting for the funds because our people are really in need of it.
We hope the disputed US$7 million will not affect our pending grant
proposal, and we are working hard to ensure that money goes back
to its intended beneficiaries," he told IRIN/PlusNews.
"We strongly recommend
that the Global Fund looks at other means to disburse this money,
[and are] recommending that any future grants come straight to programme
implementers instead of through RBZ, so that we minimise the interferences,"
he said. "We hope the Global Fund will consider this proposal
and not deny the people of Zimbabwe money."
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
