Government resumes receiving money from Global Fund
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sun 29 May 2011, 07:20 CAT
THE Zambia government has won funding of about US $300 million under round 10 of Global Fund. This is after the government returned part of the money and pledged to pay the rest of over K9.1 billion that was mismanaged by principal recipients of the funds mainly meant for the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr Peter Mwaba confirmed in an interview that the Global Fund spearheaded by USAID had also started releasing funds that government qualified for under round 8 after it pledged to pay back the mismanaged funds.
“I can tell you that we won round 8 which was part of the Global Fund but they were not releasing it. They are giving it now. Then there is round 10 worth US $300 million which was very competitive and the last round.”
Dr Mwaba said that his ministry was working towards ensuring accountability for Global Fund in order to accrue its full benefits.
“We just want to ensure that there is accountability because the bottom line is we can win those funds but if we do not have robust systems, the funds will not go anywhere,” he said.
Dr Mwaba justified the re-imbursement of misappropriated funds saying Zambia would not have received the other sets of funding if this was not done.
“If you look at Global Fund and how much money we get from it, the money is over US$600 million without interest, now because of what happened, they asked us to return the funds as a condition to receive another round while we are investigating the matter,” said Dr Mwaba.
The government has refunded K9.1 billion to Global Fund as part of the money that was misappropriated by the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, Dr Mwaba said that the nine mobile hospitals had begun operations with only Northern, Western and Eastern provinces where the services are yet to be launched.
“The Lusaka one has now gone to Chiyawa. The whole sets will be assembled today (Friday) and they would be there to operate for a week. The Copperbelt one is in Mpongwe. They are operating. The North Western Province one is still at the provincial health centres,” said Dr Mwaba.
He also confirmed that the hospital unit meant for Eastern Province was on its way to Chadiza awaiting its launch.
He also disclosed that negotiations with USA’s EXIM Bank were on course to get another four hospitals into the country.
“The American ones will be accompanied by ambulances. So the mobile hospitals are not only a concept arising from China. In fact it’s the Americans who started mobile hospitals,” said Dr Mwaba.
He disclosed that the Treasury had to this effect sanctioned the deployment of over 300 medical personnel that will operate in both the mobile and static health centres.
Dr Mwaba said mobile health service would be treated as an outreach programme such as Flying Doctor Service which were sharing personnel with static health institutions.
“Right now as I am talking to you, the director of this hospital (Luckson Kasonka) is in Mongu operating on women with fistula because that is his specialty. So this movement of staff is normal. There is no one permanently deployed in a car,” said Dr Mwaba.
“Zambia Army goes to the border (Flying Doctor), do you know how much they spend? Healthcare is expensive. So we don’t expect the mobile hospitals to be cheap.”
And Dr Mwaba also expressed satisfaction with renovations going on at UTH’s G-block and construction of conference facilities.
Labels: DEBT, GLOBAL FUND
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Arrest Global Fund fraudsters, NGOCC urges government
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 06 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
NGOCC says the failure by government to prosecute individuals that mismanaged money from the Global Fund is evidence that the MMD government has opened its doors to corruption.
The government has refunded K9.1 billion to Global Fund as part of the refund of the money that was misappropriated by the Ministry of Health.
In an interview, Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC) board chairperson Beatrice Grillo said that it was shameful for the government to admit guilt of the stolen monies from the Global Fund but fail to prosecute those involved.
Grillo urged Zambians to rise and put a stop to corruption which the MMD government was institutionalising.
This is a typical example of the levels of the lack of concern on corruption by government. Why are we (Zambians) refunding the money?
Is it a sign of admission" Grillo asked. "If that is the case, are you telling me that the whole government of President Rupiah Banda cannot trace and prosecute those people that used the money" said Grillo.
Grillo said it was unacceptable for the government to pay back the stolen funds without making efforts to recover it from known principal recipients who mismanaged it.
"I can?t understand why this government has failed. If I speak against the government and if I do something wrong, they will find me, they will lock me up. Are they saying the whole contingent of officers like the one sent to Mongu to use live bullets on those innocent children who were asking for their rights cannot find the people who stole funds?" Grillo asked.
She said that the scenario could not be explained beyond corruption. "If that's not corruption, then I don?t know what corruption is.
For me it's either government is saying, "if this one goes then we all go", otherwise what other explanation can they give" Grillo said.
Remember we have not yet even recovered from the decision by government to remove the abuse of office clause. It is clear that this government is endorsing corruption. It?s really shameful sometimes when you go out of the country, you feel like burying your head.
In the UK the lawyers who were involved in Chiluba's case have been dismissed but we, the people concerned, are putting a red carpet for the culprit. It's a mockery and I feel Zambians should stand up and say enough is enough' Grillo.
Labels: CORRUPTION, GLOBAL FUND, NGOCC
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Prosecute Global Fund looters, NGOCC urges
By Joseph Mwenda
Fri 19 Nov. 2010, 03:59 CAT
THE NGOCC says it will be illogical for the government to repay the Global Fund US$13 million without prosecuting those responsible for misappropriating it.
Commenting on Sweden’s withdrawal of its US$85 million annual pledge to the Global Fund following concerns of financial misappropriation in Zambia, Cameroun, Mauritania and Mali, NGOCC executive director Engwase Mwale yesterday said Zambia had many needy sectors which needed attention.
“Given the situation of our country, we need every resource to be directed to the needy areas and we know that in terms of development, we need every funding that comes into the country to be applied accordingly,” Mwale said in an interview.
“Therefore, it will be very unfair for the country to be made to pay back when culprits are available; they are currently moving around in this country. It is very important for government to ensure that these culprits are made to pay back.”
She advised the government to quickly investigate the abuse of funds in question and ensure that culprits pay back.
“These people who misappropriated money meant for the innocent majority must be prosecuted and most importantly, they must be held to account for them to make sure that this money is available as soon as possible for them to pay back,” she said.
Mwale said the government and concerned parties should find a lasting solution to the continued embezzlement of donor aid in the country.
“Fund misappropriation has continued hitting us as a country. It is even more worrying that this time, it was funds meant for HIV and AIDS whose repercussion is heavily inclined towards many women and children that have benefited from this support,” Mwale said.
She warned that many people would lose their lives following the decision by the Global Fund donors to withdraw funding.
“We have had reports of HIV/AIDS drugs as well as TB drug shortages in most of our health centres. A lot of people are suffering, a lot of citizens who are trying to prolong their lives will actually lose their lives because of the lack of these important life-saving drugs,” Mwale said.
Mwale said the misappropriation of funds would also affect the country’s efforts to reduce infant mortality rates, which still remained high.
And chief government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha said he would only comment on the matter once Sweden officially communicated to the government.
“I have seen the article in The Post but we have not received the communication from Sweden. When Sweden communicates to us then we can comment,” said Lieutenant General Shikapwasha.
According to the Global Funds’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report, of the total misapplied US$25 million, Zambia had the highest amount with almost $12 million in ineligible expenditures identified and $1 million in non-delivered goods.
In Cameroon about US$$3 million was reported to have been abused, US$4 million in Mali while US$6.7 million was identified in Mauritania as unaccounted for.
Stefan Emblad, the director of resource mobilisation at the Global Fund, stated that all the four countries that misused funds must repay.
Labels: ENGWASE MWALE, GLOBAL FUND, NGOCC
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Global Fund chairperson meets Levy
By Masuzyo Chakwe and Mwala Kalaluka
Tuesday March 11, 2008 [03:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa yesterday said the contribution of the Global Fund to Zambia's response to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has been very significant. And Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberclosis and Malaria board chairperson Rajat Gupta on Sunday expressed concern that the HIV/AIDS fight had not recorded wins over the last five years despite all the available solutions.
Speaking when Gupta paid a courtesy call on him at State House, President Mwanawasa said Zambia to date had received US $172 million from the Global Fund. He said the progress made in the national response to AIDS would not have been possible without the support of all partners, including the Global Fund.
President Mwanawasa said he was particularly pleased to note that the recently announced Round Eight guidelines provided for support to women and girls, who bore the brunt of HIV and AIDS.
"Zambia needs resources for programmes and services to empower women and girls to enable them to make decisions and give them options to deal with matters that affect their lives.
I am particularly pleased that the Global Fund has in the Round Eight guidelines provided for support to integrated public, civil society and community health systems strengthening.
This has been a source of major concern to my government and has limited our efforts towards universal access to prevention, care and treatment," he said.
President Mwanawasa said approximately one million Zambians were HIV positive, 295,240 of whom were in need of antiretroviral therapy. He said political commitment was key to the success of the AIDS response and it was for this reason that a Cabinet committee on HIV and AIDS was established. He said he considered the response to AIDS as one of his top most priorities and demanded regular updates on matters concerning HIV and AIDS from the Cabinet committee on AIDS.
President Mwanawasa said another key structure within the coordination and management of the response to HIV and AIDS was the country coordinating mechanism (CCM) of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
"The CCM in Zambia is composed of 20 members, as follows; six from government, seven from the NGO sector, one from the Network of Zambian People Living with HIV and AIDS, one from the private sector, one from academia and four from international organisations. It will be seen from the above analysis of the CCM that my government adheres to the principles of openness and inclusiveness and has created an excellent enabling environment for civil society participation," he said.
And Gupta said Zambia was a very important partner for the Global Fund in the fight against the three diseases.
"As we have already heard we have four recipients in the country, two ministries and two civil society organisations which is a model we want to take forward," he said.
Gupta said another important thing was strengthening of the overall health systems.
He said programmes like tuberculosis and malaria had been said to take away resources from the overall health system.
"So we want to do the exact opposite, we want to strengthen the health system in that the Global Fund is more committed to making drugs that help strengthen the overall health system," he said.
He also commended Mataka for understanding the role of women and girls. Gupta said he was pleased with the number of people who were on the life-saving drugs and called for special emphasis on the prevention of mother to child transmission.
He said programmes in tuberculosis needed to be scaled up.
And speaking on arrival at Lusaka International Airport, Gupta said a review of the performance of the Global Fund in the quest to address the HIV/AIDS indicates that the levels of infection were still more than those of people receiving treatment.
Gupta, who was responding to a question on what efforts should be done to address the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in sub-Saharan Africa, said AIDS activists had no excuse as to why they should not reduce the tally of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
"We are looking forward from all the strategies coming from our partners; because we do not make the strategies as a Fund," he said. "That is the momentum that is going to come in the next few years."
Gupta, however, cautioned that the current efforts in the fight against the pandemic would be rendered inefficient if funds disbursed towards HIV/AIDS interventions were not well managed.
He said the Global Fund on AIDS, TB and Malaria had put up mechanisms in place to ensure that the money it disbursed was spent on the right programmes.
Labels: GLOBAL FUND, MWANAWASA
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