FG promises to bridge gap as donors pull HIV funds

The Federal Government has assured it will hedge against the loss of millions of dollars in donor funding to HIV-AIDS support programmes, as hundreds of Nigerians living with the virus currently reel from the impact of the “fund pull out.”

In an exclusive chat with BusinessDay on the sideline of the 2014 AIDS conference in Melbourne, Australia, minister of health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, described the gaps  as “huge” noting that though it would be a challenge to move forward, President Goodluck Jonathan was pursuing a plan of action.

The World Bank and Global Fund have reportedly changed their financing model towards Nigeria, with funds being “re-assigned” such that the primary focus is now so-called  “key populations” which include sex workers and the gay community, which are statistically the clusters with the highest HIV-AIDS prevalence rate.

This move notably follows the recently passed anti same-sex marriage law in Nigeria, which has been described by the United Nations agency UNAIDS and many human rights groups as discriminatory and a major impediment to the fight against HIV-AIDS.

Attempts to get a clear position from Global Fund and the World Bank mission in Nigeria failed, with several calls, text, and e-mails going unanswered. Meanwhile, thousands infected by the virus are struggling to access drugs and now have to pay for health services that are not affordable.

While some western powers including Australia at the 2014 AIDS conference have called for further cuts to funding to nations like Nigeria and Uganda, which have laws criminalising homosexuality, others have criticised these western nations for making such threats.

“We noted the gap, it’s a huge gap but there is also the President’s Comprehensive Response Plan (PCRP),” Chukwu said, “in naira terms, more than N167 billion, that’s what the president plans, hopes to fill but we will also still require the assistance of our development partners to fill that gap. “

While some voices at the 2014 AIDS conference have called for further cuts to funding to nations like Nigeria and Uganda which have laws criminalizing homosexuality, others criticized them for making such threats.

Nigeria took center stage at the AIDS conference, as the government was slammed for working against the fight to end HIV infections and AIDS related death. The argument, supported by data from surveys presented, is that laws criminalizing a population like the gay community push them underground, reducing demand for HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment services thus increasing risks and enabling the spread of the virus. Notably this “population” continues to record the highest percentage of new infections for HIV.

Michael Kirby, former Australian High Court judge and a keynote speaker at the conference, singling out Nigeria among others, said “taxpayers in many countries will not keep forking-out for countries that are willing to take the contributions for anti-retroviral drugs but are not willing to protect their own citizens,”

However, anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof, a British national and leader of Live Aid blasted rich countries like Britain and Australia, for cutting, threatening to cut and supporting foreign aid cuts to poor nations, noting that this move was like “beating an infant.”

The Australian government has cut foreign aid expenditure, some of which would go towards HIV prevention in the developing world.

“The Australian people gave their word to the poorest people of this planet. You can’t mess with your sovereign promise to the poor, they are too vulnerable, and they are too weak.”

Australia slowed its “official development assistance” or ODA as part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Meanwhile, according to figures released by the Australian Council for International Development, Australia’s aid commitment is likely to fall to 0.29 percent of its Gross National Income by 2017/2018.

 

 

 

AMETO AKPE, just back from Melbourne, Australia