[imgl]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Red_ribbon.png/110px-Red_ribbon.png[/imgl]KATHMANDU, Dec 1 - Nepal will not receive a financial assistance worth Rs 4.5 billion allocated by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to run prevention, control and treatment programmes against HIV/AIDS in the country for the next year, thanks to an apparent contest between the government and the private sector to get the aid.
According to sources at the Ministry of Health (MoH) the crucial aid was "blocked" as the Family Health International (FHI) -- a non-government organisation that helped the government to prepare the proposal seeking the Global Fund aid- sent a separate proposal of its own to the Global Fund for the assistance.
The Global Fund has even asked the government why two separate proposals were submitted from the same country. The government came to know that the FHI had "betrayed" it by sending its own separate proposal only after the query from the Global Fund. "Because of the two proposals, the Global Fund has invalidated Nepal government's proposal that had been approved," the source said.
The source also said that the health ministry had submitted a Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM) proposal while the FHI, with the approval of another government body- the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC)- had submitted a non-CCM proposal to the Global Fund.
A technical committee of the Global Fund halted the financial assistance allocated for Nepal as two separate proposals, both approved by different government bodies, had been submitted.
Denying the allegations, FHI officials, however, said that the proposal was turned down by the Global Fund due to the government's own weaknesses.
"But we have written to the Fund requesting not to halt the assistance because of our proposal," said FHI director Asha Basnyat.
Stating that earlier too Nepal did not receive the aid because the government could not present an outstanding proposal, Basnyat said, "Every time it is publicised that the proposal has been accepted, but we never receive the assistance."
NCASC Director Dr Rajendra Pant said that he had asked the FHI to write to the Global Fund to disqualify its proposal once it was learnt that the Global Fund aid would be blocked.
However, sources at the ministry said that the delay in sending the letter has effectively blocked the Global Fund aid.
In case the aid is cancelled, half of the programmes currently being run in the country against HIV/AIDS would come to a halt. Even the programmes to distribute free medicines to HIV infected that are being run through Global Fund assistance would stop immediately.
According to the ministry sources, some organisations working against HIV/AIDS have put pressure on the government to take action against FHI.
Rs 1.38 billion spent on failed programmes
The HIV/AIDS problem in the country has only worsened as the prevention and control programmes against the disease have failed. At least Rs 1.38 billion has already been spent on such failed programmes.
The amount that the government, NGOs and other international organisations have spent for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS makes 15 per cent of the country total budget allocated for the health sector. Despite such huge expenditure, the organisations have not been able to produce any substantial result.
"Of course the budget is huge and there are ample programmes but there has been no evaluation of their effectiveness. This is also true that the achievement is not commensurate with the investment," said NCASC director Dr Pant.
Almost all types of programmes which are being implemented globally are being carried out in Nepal as well. Though the government had asked for enough assistance to provide Anti Retro Viral (ARV) treatment for some 8,000 HIV-patients in the country, only 415 of them are currently receiving the treatment. On the other hand, the patients also complain that they have not been able to receive the medicine on time.
"We are not provided the medicines on time," said secretary of the Sahara Plus, Dipak Khadgi. He also complained that the patients are put in queues for months and yet unable to undergo the clinical tests in time.
The exact number of HIV/AIDS patients in Nepal is still unknown. Till 2005, the government estimated the number of HIV/AIDS to be around 70,259. As of October 31, 2006, the number of "reported cases" has reached 8073.
According to a Health Ministry source, the statistics we have today are based on the data compiled by few government, NGO and INGO officials in a hotel room in 1990.
Source:
eKantipur
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