Monitoring aid for AIDS

GOVERNMENT will start monitoring and evaluating programmes of the public sector to combat HIV-AIDS, Prime Minister Nahas Angula has announced.

‘My Office will launch such a monitoring exercise to evaluate response programmes of the (public) sector to HIV-AIDS and a score card will be developed to score sectoral activities against that scourge,’ the Prime Minister said in Parliament on Thursday during his speech on the National Budget.’The ravages of HIV-AIDS continue to torment our society and we salute the contributions of the Global Fund for allocating N$153,5 million and USAID and the US government for giving N$123,7 million to Namibia for HIV-AIDS programmes in this year’s budget. All the public sector players should redouble their efforts to make tangible contributions to the fight against HIV-AIDS and other communicable diseases,’ the Prime Minister urged. He told the House that he convinced the US-based Synergos Institute to develop a health personnel strategic plan with the Health Ministry. ‘The Bill Gates Foundation allocated N$7 million to Synergos to assist the Health Ministry in this regard.’The Synergos Institute is already active in Namibia and focuses on two projects – one to improve the performance and capacity of the Health Ministry’s senior leadership team and the second one on maternal health.According to the Prime Minister he is in contact with the Swiss-based Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (Gain) so they could assist Namibia to develop a nutrition strategy. Gain is already running similar projects in South Africa to help the poor.’Poverty is the overarching challenge facing Namibia,’ Angula said Thursday. ‘Poverty is racial, gendered, rural and generational. Due to historical reasons wealth continues to be concentrated in racial groups which were favoured by the ancient regime [South Africa]. Nineteen years of Independence in Namibia have not changed this pattern and Government policies to alter the status quo are being frustrated by vested interests,’ Angula said.