Africa: Daily HIV/Aids Report

Global Fund Says Zimbabwe Misused Grant, Requests Return of Money

[Nov 03, 2008]

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has said that Zimbabwe misused $7.3 million of last year's $12.3 million grant, and Global Fund officials have asked Zimbabwe to return the money, the New York Times reports (Dugger, New York Times, 11/3). Zimbabwean financial officers have said they will return the money by Thursday, according to Jon Liden, Global Fund communications director (AP/Google.com, 11/3). According to John Parsons, the Global Fund inspector general, officials in Zimbabwe said they have not repaid the funds because of a lack of foreign currency.

According to Parsons, the Global Fund last year deposited $12.3 million in foreign currency into Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank. Although Parsons did not speculate on how the $7.3 million of the grant was spent, he said it had not been used for the intended purpose. The Reserve Bank's failure to use the money appropriately allowed only 495 Zimbabweans out of the intended 27,000 to receive safe drug distribution training, therefore preventing large quantities of malaria medicines provided by the Global Fund from reaching those in need, according to Parsons. In addition, the drugs will expire by the middle of next year, and it would be "criminal" if the Global Fund is unable to distribute the drugs because of financial management concerns, Parsons said.

Although the Global Fund's Technical Review Panel recently that Zimbabwe's requests for Round 8 funding be approved, the country's management of previous funding may hinder its chances of obtaining a $188 million grant up for consideration by the Global Fund's board on Friday, Parsons said. According to international aid organizations and the United Nations, Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate of more than 230 million% creates additional challenges for providing aid. "We cannot safely leave foreign exchange in Zimbabwe," Parsons said, adding that the organization will need to "find some other means to safeguard our funds." Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Zimbabwe's information minister, on Sunday said he is unaware of the specifics of the situation but said the Reserve Bank had good intentions. Ndlovu added that Global Fund donations were "nowhere near what the Reserve Bank has spent on health care for the country."

According to the World Health Organization's recent estimates, Zimbabwe has 2.7 million malaria cases among the country's population of 12 million people. In addition, the country reported about 140,000 HIV/AIDS-related deaths last year, the Times reports (New York Times, 11/3). The AP/Google.com reports that efforts to reach government officials in Zimbabwe on Monday were not successful (AP/Google.com, 11/3).

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Swaziland Increases Male Circumcision Efforts To Curb Spread of HIV

[Nov 03, 2008]

Swaziland is leading African countries in promoting male circumcision to curb the spread of HIV with the help of Israeli surgeons, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports. The country began to promote male circumcision in response to studies showing that the procedure could reduce a man's risk of contracting HIV by up to 60%, according to the AP/Mercury News. According to United Nations modeling studies, male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent 5.7 million new HIV cases and 3 million HIV/AIDS-related deaths over 20 years.

The World Health Organization and other agencies are providing technical support to help the Swazi government implement the circumcision campaign and increase the number of men receiving the procedure, the AP/Mercury News reports. Teams of Israeli surgeons, led by Inon Schenker of the Jerusalem AIDS Project, have trained 10 Swazi doctors on how to safely and efficiently perform the operation with limited resources. Swaziland is the only country in which the Israeli physicians have trained local health workers on the procedure, although other countries -- including Namibia, Rwanda and Zambia -- have asked the group to conduct similar training programs, according to the AP/Mercury News.

Some health workers are concerned that men might increase engaging in risky sexual behavior after undergoing circumcision because they believe the procedure makes them immune to HIV. In addition, mass male circumcision, which requires local anesthetic and a surgeon, will "add additional demands to overstretched facilities in a country which has only 170 doctors," according to the AP/Mercury News. The Swazi government and the Family Life Association of Swaziland, which runs a clinic that performs circumcisions, believe the benefits of the procedure will outweigh the costs. The circumcision campaign is one part of the Swaziland's HIV prevention strategy, the AP/Mercury News reports, noting that less than 10% of Swazi men have had an HIV test and that all men who request circumcision are offered the test.

Africa: Daily HIV/Aids Report

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