Banner Left

NGOs lose out on AIDS funds

NGOs lose out on AIDS funds

NAMIBIAN non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will no longer receive funding directly from United Nations agencies that sponsor HIV-AIDS.

The announcement was made at a two-day ministerial conference on how to accelerate the campaign against AIDS in Africa. The UNS said it had endorsed a proposal by Zambia and Zimbabwe to stop channelling AIDS funds to NGOs, alleging questionable accountability.The meeting held in Livingstone, Zambia, was attended by Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Health Richard Kamwi and Minister of Basic Education John Mutorwa.Namibian NGOs have expressed shock at the “disturbing news” and have approached the UN Geneva for confirmation and an explanation.Reuters news agency reported that Koichiro Matsuura, who chairs the funding committee for UNAIDS, said AIDS money would no longer be given to NGOs.”This is what the countries have proposed and it has been endorsed.The money will only be channelled through the governments’ central authorities dealing with AIDS,” Reuters quoted Matsuura as having said .The move was apparently supported by the governments of Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.The Zambian NGO the Network of People Living with HIV (NZP+) said the move was “retrogressive” and “will be grave to the fight against AIDS” because of the bureaucracy in government institutions.Some donor groups and AIDS activists have complained that only a small part of international funding is spent on medicine or care programmes, with most going towards the salaries and allowances of both public and NGO bureaucrats.At the meeting, UNAIDS head Dr Peter Piot called on African governments to show how they have spent millions of dollars worth of donations to fight AIDS if they wanted more funding.Piot told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference that donor purses would open if they were assured their dollars were reaching the needy.The UNS said it had endorsed a proposal by Zambia and Zimbabwe to stop channelling AIDS funds to NGOs, alleging questionable accountability.The meeting held in Livingstone, Zambia, was attended by Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Health Richard Kamwi and Minister of Basic Education John Mutorwa.Namibian NGOs have expressed shock at the “disturbing news” and have approached the UN Geneva for confirmation and an explanation.Reuters news agency reported that Koichiro Matsuura, who chairs the funding committee for UNAIDS, said AIDS money would no longer be given to NGOs.”This is what the countries have proposed and it has been endorsed.The money will only be channelled through the governments’ central authorities dealing with AIDS,” Reuters quoted Matsuura as having said .The move was apparently supported by the governments of Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.The Zambian NGO the Network of People Living with HIV (NZP+) said the move was “retrogressive” and “will be grave to the fight against AIDS” because of the bureaucracy in government institutions.Some donor groups and AIDS activists have complained that only a small part of international funding is spent on medicine or care programmes, with most going towards the salaries and allowances of both public and NGO bureaucrats.At the meeting, UNAIDS head Dr Peter Piot called on African governments to show how they have spent millions of dollars worth of donations to fight AIDS if they wanted more funding.Piot told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference that donor purses would open if they were assured their dollars were reaching the needy.

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News