AIDS remains biggest threat

HIV-AIDS remains the country’s biggest single public health threat.

Minister of Health and Social Services Richard Kamwi said yesterday that Government was committed to fight the epidemic and had set aside N$8 million specifically for its HIV-AIDS programme. This amount does not include money to buy anti-retrovirals, but Kamwi did not say what the cost of the life-sustaining drugs would be.Motivating a budget of N$1,3 billion in the National Assembly – 10 per cent of the total State budget – Kamwi said the money would be used to fund the activities of 33 health districts which included 259 clinics, 38 health centres, 30 district hospitals and more than 1 000 outreach points.The Health Ministry aims to have 30 000 HIV-infected people on ART treatment by the end of this financial year, increasing to 42 000 by March 2008 and 54 000 by March 2009.Kamwi yesterday also announced that his Ministry planned to conduct the third Demographic and Health Survey this year.The data will assist in guiding policy making and the evaluation of health interventions at national and regional levels to improve the quality of life.The survey will cost N$11,5 million, with the shortfall to be funded by development partners.Kamwi told the House the construction projects of his Ministry were being hampered by lengthy tendering processes, delays in the appointment of contractors and consultants and further delays by architects in finalising the documentation.These factors, he said, only allowed his Ministry to carry out 75 per cent of its planned development projects for 2005-06.Eighty-six percent (N$83 million) of the Ministry’s budget allocation will be spent on upgrading clinics, health centres, district and referral hospitals.Mortuaries are also to be built from this budget, as well as regional directorate offices and health training centres.”I would like to mention once again that we can only manage to utilise the funds allocated to us for capital development if we can expedite and shorten the period from approval to actual commencement of capital projects in order to make medium-term expenditure framework planning a worthwhile exercise,” said Kamwi.Development partners will make a contribution of N$233 million, which forms 71 per cent of the development budget.This money will be used to develop the health and social welfare sector, including combating HIV-AIDS, development of physical infrastructure, human resources and primary healthcare programmes.This amount does not include money to buy anti-retrovirals, but Kamwi did not say what the cost of the life-sustaining drugs would be.Motivating a budget of N$1,3 billion in the National Assembly – 10 per cent of the total State budget – Kamwi said the money would be used to fund the activities of 33 health districts which included 259 clinics, 38 health centres, 30 district hospitals and more than 1 000 outreach points.The Health Ministry aims to have 30 000 HIV-infected people on ART treatment by the end of this financial year, increasing to 42 000 by March 2008 and 54 000 by March 2009.Kamwi yesterday also announced that his Ministry planned to conduct the third Demographic and Health Survey this year.The data will assist in guiding policy making and the evaluation of health interventions at national and regional levels to improve the quality of life.The survey will cost N$11,5 million, with the shortfall to be funded by development partners.Kamwi told the House the construction projects of his Ministry were being hampered by lengthy tendering processes, delays in the appointment of contractors and consultants and further delays by architects in finalising the documentation.These factors, he said, only allowed his Ministry to carry out 75 per cent of its planned development projects for 2005-06.Eighty-six percent (N$83 million) of the Ministry’s budget allocation will be spent on upgrading clinics, health centres, district and referral hospitals.Mortuaries are also to be built from this budget, as well as regional directorate offices and health training centres.”I would like to mention once again that we can only manage to utilise the funds allocated to us for capital development if we can expedite and shorten the period from approval to actual commencement of capital projects in order to make medium-term expenditure framework planning a worthwhile exercise,” said Kamwi.Development partners will make a contribution of N$233 million, which forms 71 per cent of the development budget.This money will be used to develop the health and social welfare sector, including combating HIV-AIDS, development of physical infrastructure, human resources and primary healthcare programmes.