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ZARAN, TALC call for accountability in funding to Zambia’s health sector

ZARAN, TALC call for accountability in funding to Zambia’s health sector
By Brina Manenga and Fridah Zinyama
Wed 29 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

THE Zambia AIDSlaw Research and Advocacy Network (ZARAN) and the Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC) have called for increased transparency, accountability and efficiency in the use of funding for health in Zambia.

In a joint statement, the two organizations urged the government to increase its domestic contributions to strengthening health systems, in line with the Abuja target of allocating 15 per cent of the national budget to health. The statement made on the occasion of the Global Day of Action called for the replenishment of the Global Fund which was established in 2002.

“Today (yesterday), we join other countries in the region in calling upon global leaders to commit to replenishing of the Global Fund so as to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care. We wish to emphasize that health is a human right and must be viewed as such by our government. The government must be held accountable for the delivery of health for all. We applaud the government for the efforts being made at strengthening health systems and dealing with corruption and misappropriation within the Ministry of Health,” read the statement.

They observed that a lot needed to be done to retain donor confidence in the health system and increase access to health by ordinary Zambians.

The statement read that without increased funding and accountability for health, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) would not be attained.

“We need more funding for health at the global, regional and national level. Posterity will judge us harshly if we continue to allow health to be under-funded and allow millions of lives to be lost on account of poor prioritization,” read the statement.

Meanwhile, Access Bank has donated US $1 million to the Global Fund’s Gift from Africa project, a sum which is redeemable over a three year period of 2010-2013, with the first pay out due this year.

In a press statement, Access Bank Zambia head of Corporate Communications Glenda Tutula stated that Access Bank is the first African private sector company to invest in the Global Fund programme under the organisation’s collaboration with African private sector in the fight against the triple pandemic of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

“The donation by the bank is in response to the Global Fund’s call for support from African private sector in the fight against the triple pandemics threatening social-economic development of the continent,” stated Tutula.

And Group managing director Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede stated that the gift from Africa project provides the bank with an opportunity to lead other African private sector institutions and demonstrates to the world that Africans were prepared to share the responsibility for solving Africa’s challenges.

Labels: HEALTHCARE, HIV/AIDS, TALC, ZARAN

posted by MrK @ 9:42 AM