Zambia on Wednesday played down fears of a looming health crisis after the Global Fund suspended more than $300 million in health assistance to the country citing corruption.
The freeze, the latest graft scandal to hit President Rupiah Banda before an election due next year, is likely to affect the southern African country’s fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao said the Global Fund would still continue supporting Zambia but the funding would now be made available through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“It is just that the Ministry of Health will no longer be the principal recipient of the funding but all the programmes will continue under UNDP,” Simbao told Reuters.
“We hope that with the support of the UNDP, the Ministry of Health can build capacity to administer the funding in about one to two years.”
The aid freeze comes a year after Sweden and the Netherlands suspended $33 million in Health Ministry aid due to a missing $5 million. Some officials were later charged with stealing the money.
The European Union has also halted aid earmarked for road construction because of concerns about graft.
University of Zambia economist Oliver Saasa said the latest suspension should serve as another warning to Banda to get serious about graft, a growing concern of donors who pay for 30 percent of the budget in Africa’s largest copper producer. (Reporting By Chris Mfula)
[Reuters]
A corrupt govt with corrupt head. Lets give them a red card.
What a shame. Simbao is refusing that no aid has been suspended. Chipuba; these officials of GRZ, what is wrong with them kanshi? They tell lies always.
there is no healthcare as it is so no difference if funds are suspended. a lot of that money just goes to pay western ‘consultants’ , thats what dono funds are. So to h e l l with those funds.
It shouldn’t take donors to freeze funding for the Govt to be serious about fighting graft. This could have been avoided if preventive measures were in place, its better to be proactive rather than being reactive.
#3-Monko i agree with you 100%. the amount of money paid to consultants to go to zambia to take jobs that zambians should be trained to do is ridiculous. an entire family plus expenses will be paid to an american to go to zambia to do a job, the salary is tax free, living expenses paid, moving expenses paid and entire family provided school fees in international schools as well as health care is provide in the package being paid to people to go take jobs that is funded by AID money from the USA. Do you know how much health care that persons package alone would provide for zambians ? lots. AID money needs to be monitored and cut off if the majority of it is going to be used to provide fat packages to fat expatriates and another chunk of it being diverted to fat coffers in the host country.