MARTIN MAWAYA
Zimbabwe requires over $400 million annually to support its HIV/AIDS response, the National Aids Council (NAC) has said.
According to NAC’s Finance and Administration Director, Albert Manenji, the funding sources include both domestic and international contributions.
He said this during the NAC editors workshop on current trends on AIDS and HIV response held at Chinhoyi University Hotel last Thursday.
“Domestic funding currently accounts for 9-16% of the total HIV/AIDS response, with the AIDS levy being the primary source,” Manenji said.
Other domestic initiatives include government contributions for health worker salaries, facilities, and administration, as well as medical aid and out-of-pocket expenses by patients.
“Despite being one of the least resourced countries at the epicenter of the epidemic, Zimbabwe has achieved impressive results,” Manenji said.
However, Manenji acknowledged that the reduced resources have led to automatic rationalization, and financial discipline has helped attract additional funding for HIV/AIDS response initiatives.
He added that the country should explore options such as increasing government contributions through the Ministry of Health and Child Care budget, tapping into the informal sector, and leveraging capital projects.
“Debate is ongoing on how to tap into the informal sector for HI funding with others suggesting theta the local authorities should be roped in by collecting the AIDS levy on behalf of NAC as vendors pay for their trading licences,” said Manenji.
Currently, Zimbabwe has registered a significant decline in HIV incidence and prevalence in the past decade.
The country is estimated to have 1.3 million people living with HIV, with a prevalence rate of 11.58% and an incidence rate of 0.11%.
In addition, Zimbabwe has also achieved the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets ahead of schedule, with 750,000 females aged 15 and above, 111,195 young people aged 15-24, and 75,000 children aged 0-14 living with HIV.
At the provincial level, Midlands and Mashonaland Central provinces reported the highest numbers of new HIV infections at 3,100 and 2,400, respectively.
Meanwhile, Matabeleland South and North recorded the highest HIV prevalence and incidence at 0.27% and 0.19%, respectively according to his report.
