The National Aids Council (NAC) has appealed to all recipients of the global fund to strengthen their capacity to understand what the fund is meant for so that the resources can be used for the intended purpose.
The Global Fund and the Zambian government yesterday signed a new agreement of US$102 million (about K500 billion) for HIV programmes to be implemented by the Churches Health Association of Zambia.THE Global Fund (GF) to fight HIV\AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria gave Zambia the grant to continue supporting the national HIV/AIDS responses in the country.
NAC board chairperson Bishop Joshua Banda said the signing of the new agreement is historic not only because of the huge amount involved but also because of the significant demonstration of confidence in the country’s response framework.THE Global Fund (GF) to fight HIV\AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria gave Zambia the grant through the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) to continue supporting the national HIV/AIDS responses in the country.
Bishop Banda said it should be realized that now that the resources are huge, the responsibilities are also bigger.
Speaking in an interview, Bishop Banda says accountability and transparency should be enhanced adding that areas that have had loopholes in the past should be tightened to avoid a repetition of what transpired at the ministry of health.
He said he is confident that the monitoring and evaluation systems are now much stronger.
The signing of the single stream funding grant was a consolidation of four grants which had since made Zambia the only country in the region to have successfully done so.
From the grant, over 404,275 people would be counselled and tested, 80,479 placed on treatment, 84,000 males circumcised and 70,050 orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) would receive care and support.
Global Fund head – grant management programmes division from Geneva, Eldon Edington praised the Zambian Government for implementing measures to ensure resources in the health sector reached the intended purposes.
Mr Edington said in Lusaka yesterday at a signing ceremony that he was impressed with the Zambian Government’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in all parts of the country.
“I am very glad to be here to sign this agreement with Zambia today. This new grant will increase Global Fund’s investments of high impact interventions that will help Zambia reach universal access of HIV treatment,” he said.
He said Zambia had continued to make tremendous strides in the fight against major diseases using GF resources and that his organisation would also continue to invest in the country’s health sector.
Mr Edington said Zambia had been rated among high countries making positive impacts in combating various diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria by working with various cooperating partners.
Health Minister Joseph Kasonde said the signing of the single stream funding grants, which brought K500 billion into Zambia, would target high impact areas to support efforts in the fight against major diseases.
He said Zambia was privileged to have been a recipient of GF grants since inception in 2002 in which K2.5 billion had been disbursed, helping the country in areas of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria fight.
Dr Kasonde said the Government, through the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), had prioritised health-related Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and was impressed with CHAZ for its concerted efforts to improve the health sector.
“The Government health care financing through the Ministry of Health and its partners is focusing on exploring ways of introducing alternative means of financing the provision of health services to raise additional revenue, promote efficient utilisation of Government health facilities, equity and delivery of quality health care services,” he said.
Dr Kasonde said the Government had embarked on a process to have a comprehensive health care financing strategy and was also considering setting up a national health fund.
The fund would start operating a social health insurance scheme with public servants being an entry point, adding that there would be a clear roll out plan for private and informal sectors.
I hope they wont be forced to pay back again when they blow this money on prostitutes in lodges…again!
Well done Joshua and Clement! Men of integrity!
where does this money go to..?I wonder..
I have invented a technique that makes people abstain and stick to one sexual partner.
I’m selling it for $50m.
this money does not even reach the intended purposes. maybe only 25% of it does, the other just goes to fake workshops and allowances to the f00lz
# 3 one third of the funds is used for the intended purpose, one third is syphoned through seminars by the managers of these funds and the remaining one third is used to pay the employees of the organisations such as CHAZ.
bishop josua banda! nevers mumba’s peer, not so!
is this AIDS money used to buy medicines or what? the only thing i see are short adverts on HIV and yet BILLIONS are donated. Go to the BOSS at AIDS what ever and find out how much they get paid ,wasnt it last time 72 million per month,what job is there to get so much. Donors be reasonable and start monitoring programmes your monies are intended for.
PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES NOWADAYS ARE NOT WORTH TRUSTING. THAT MONEY WILL END UP IN THEIR POCKETS TO BUY EXPENSIVE CARS, SHOES AND SUITS.
Hopefully it will reach the people it’s meant for. God bless and intervene.
I think after I have finished school, I will sell to donors my montoring and evaluation processing tool, very sophiscated. And I will influence them to monitor these funds. I can guarantee you the huge chunk of that money is going to administrative costs and overheads.Very little will reach the target group, thats the irony of receiving this donor money. I have worked in Not for Profits Org/Public sector, since graduating in 2001 and seriously there is need to relook at the objectives of such funds. I think salaries should be set morally, some of the salaries people get paid on the expense of intended target groups makes me shudder. Secondly there should be conditions on a number of workshops to be held quarterly and deliverables of should be quantifiable so that we can measure them
I am not sure why we have continued holding workshops about HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, when we have so much documentation that is turned into White Elephants on shelves. I would like to support workshops about researching on the cure of HIV or workshops for target groups, to facilitate feedback on how the projects are working. Anyways donors are to blame as well, they don’t care about how the money is being utilised as long as it has been used, hence so many workshops.
God will be the judge of CHAZ, The organisation has proved itself that is Global Fund can trust it this much.
I am requesting CHAZ to show its self true and shame the critics