The Sunday News
Leonard Ncube
THE African Union Aids Watch Africa (AWA) met in Victoria Falls recently amid calls for member States to scale up domestic financing for fighting HIV/Aids, Malaria and TB.
The consultative meeting also saw the launch of an Africa scorecard on domestic financing for health, which will be used to monitor and evaluate each head of State in terms of his or her country’s response to the three diseases and allocation of funding.
The conference which started on Monday ran under the theme: “framing catalytic actions, securing sustainable responses to end Aids, TB and Malaria by 2030.”
Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa was the guest of honour, in his capacity as AWA chairman.
In his official address, Dr Parirenyatwa said Africa was developing a new framework towards ending Aids, TB and malaria as health instruments in the continent were ending in 2015, the target year for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Dr Parirenyatwa said there were success stories in the fight against the diseases, with a 58 percent decline in malaria mortality rate and treatment of TB at 82 percent in the continent, and urged countries to implement provisions of the Abuja Declaration.
“Africa has made great strides in rolling back the three epidemics since the 2001 Abuja Declaration which compelled member States to allocate 15 percent of their national budgets towards health in the wake of dwindling foreign aid.
“Most countries have on average increased proportion of total government expenditure allocated to health from 9 percent to 11 percent between 2001 and 2011 and seven countries have achieved the Abuja target. However, while we are closer to defeating Aids, malaria and TB, responses face a major funding crisis which calls for both accelerated innovative domestic funding and global solidarity,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
He said in some countries health funding remained below expected levels.
During the discussions, participants drawn from across the continent and international organisations, commended Zimbabwe as a pacesetter in health response through the 3 percent Aids levy.
Dr Parirenyatwa said the country had set the tone by launching the Increased Access to Treatment Programme which is a procurement cost saving mechanism.
Speaking at the same platform, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Dr Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko said AWA would continue taking a leading role in political advocacy for accountability for the full implementation of the AU roadmap on shared responsibility and global solidarity for HIV and Aids, TB and malaria.
“All continental health policies are due to expire in 2015 and as such we need to position the health agenda as the most critical element.
For Aids, TB and malaria response to continue to receive global attention, we need to work hard on investment cases,” he said.
The continent is striving to eliminate the epidemics by the year 2030. Participants who were drawn from ministries of health, came up with a number of resolutions some of them being the need for universal coverage of all diseases, commitment to adequate funding, strengthening diagnosis and coming up with collaborative activities to include non-communicable diseases.
They also agreed to come up with accountability strategies with the goal of meeting the 2030 target as well as scaling up intervention on young children and mothers especially on Aids and TB.
A consultant engaged by AU to develop the scorecard, Mr Paul Booth, said the new concept was being worked on and would be used to reduce new infections and increase intervention among other things as there would be at least 10 indicators to work on.
