Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
UGANDA has hailed Zimbabwe’s Aids Levy and is set to replicate it to close its US$78 million HIV funding gap, saying the model proves Africa can finance its own HIV response and reduce donor dependence.
This emerged yesterday when a visiting Ugandan parliamentary delegation on HIV/Aids and Related Matters met Ministry of Health and Child Care officials led by Acting Permanent Secretary Dr Celestino Dhege and National Aids Council (NAC) officials led by chief executive Dr Bernard Madzima at the council’s offices in Harare.
Leader of the Ugandan delegation and Chairperson of the Ugandan Parliamentary Committee on HIV/Aids and Related Matters, Mr Stephen Kisa, said Zimbabwe’s domestic resource mobilisation was ahead of Uganda’s.
“One of the main reasons we came here was to benchmark domestic resource mobilisation for the national HIV response. We have noted with concern that Zimbabwe is ahead of us as far as domestic resource mobilisation is concerned,” he said.
“The money that the National Aids Council of Zimbabwe is collecting through the domestic funding model is equivalent to Uganda’s funding gap, which exceeds US$78 million.
“As Uganda, we are embracing this model wholeheartedly.”
Mr Kisa said Uganda would urge its Government to adopt domestic financing mechanisms.
“We are going to compel our Government to ensure that, if we are to achieve the target of ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030, we must mobilise resources domestically and avoid depending primarily on donor funding.”
Chairperson of Parliament’s Thematic Committee on HIV and Aids, Senator Angelina Tongogara, said the visit confirmed Zimbabwe’s leadership in HIV financing.
“It means a lot to us as a country. We established the Aids Levy Fund, and parliamentarians from different African countries are coming to learn how we did it and how we are doing it.
“It shows that, as a country, we are working as a team, Government and all stakeholders, to achieve our goal of ending Aids by 2030,” she said.
Dr Dhege said the levy had been critical in enabling Zimbabwe to surpass global targets.
“The Aids Levy has been critical. It has helped us procure ARVs and support community prevention interventions.
“The implementation of the HIV response in a multisectoral manner, where the whole of society is involved, has also been very important in ensuring that everyone plays their part.
“We have already surpassed the 95-95-95 targets,” he said.
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