Dwindling HIV funding...Guyana ready to fill void left by donor agencies

Dwindling HIV funding…Guyana ready to fill void left by donor agencies – Minister of State

Apr 22, 2017 News

The Ministry of Public Health will be given the backing of Government to maintain its gains in the wake of plans by donor agencies to withdraw health funding, particularly to aid the arrest and continue the management of those infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus [HIV].
Alluding to this state of affairs was Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, during Thursday’s Post Cabinet Press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency.
“These are international donor funds, the United States, [is] a part of a larger group of countries that contribute to those funds. These things happen from time to time, funds are added and funds are taken away,” said Harmon of funding from donor agencies.
He, however, made it clear that “it is up to us to adjust our programme accordingly and I am sure at the Ministry of Public Health that those adjustments will be made.”
But according to the Minister of State, “Even while administrations can make public pronouncements that there is a process through which it goes before that pronouncement actually becomes reality, and within the period of the pronouncement and the action taking place, the countries affected by them are given an opportunity to make adjustment to the country programme and regional programmes.”
These adjustments, Harmon pointed out, are not usually specific to countries but they are specific in many cases to the Region.
However, there have long been concerns that maintaining the gains made in tackling HIV could be challenged by dwindling donor funding. In fact, based on reports, donor funding started to decline to its lowest levels since 2010.
This is according to the 2015 UNAIDS Prevention Gap Report which was released last year.
According to the Report, international donor contributions for HIV have dropped from a peak of US$9.7 billion in 2013 to US$8.1 billion in 2015.
The Report had even then embraced Harmon’s assertion that low- and middle-income countries, such as Guyana, are stepping up to fill the gap. This was characterised by the inclusion of domestic resources accounting for 57 per cent of the US$19.2 billion total funding in 2015.
Guyana has already been lauded for being proactive in putting measures in place to fill the gap. According to United Nations Special Envoy, Dr. Edward Greene, the Government of Guyana has exhibited the right attitude in terms of financing. “When we met the Minister of Finance [Winston Jordan] in late January [2016], I must say he was very sensitive to the need to sustain the investment in health, and particular in HIV, where it is important,” said Dr. Greene.
He pointed out that unlike many other diseases, there is no vaccine for HIV, thus the need to sustain the support for infected people.
This, he noted, is designed to ensure that they remain on affordable medicine, even as efforts to educate and emphasise prevention methods are fast-tracked.
”What is a good thing is that your [Guyana] Minister of Finance, unlike some Ministers of Finance, is not saying that we have so many other things to do…there is recognition that unless we sustain the investment in health and HIV/AIDS we will not overcome, but we will increase and reverse the trends,” Dr. Greene underscored.
According to the UNAIDS Report, although international funding, the main source of funding for HIV prevention for people at higher risk of HIV, has reduced, some major donors are making bold commitments to ensure that funding reaches the people most affected.
In June 2016 the United States of America announced the launch of a US$100 million Key Populations Investment Fund to increase access to HIV services for key populations.
However, the allocation of resources for HIV prevention is falling far short of what is needed. According to the Report, currently, 20 per cent of global resources for HIV are being spent on HIV prevention. The Report indicates that to have maximum impact, funding should focus on the location and population approach in order to reach people at higher risk with combination prevention options where they live and work.

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