Govt urged to increase HIV/Aids funding
What you need to know:
The Parliamentary Committee on Aids said Wednesday that the government has to bear the burden, and ensure the war against HIV/Aids is won.
Dodoma. The government has been requested to provide more funding to the fight HIV/Aids amid concerns over the decrease in support from donors.
The Parliamentary Committee on Aids said Wednesday that the government has to bear the burden, and ensure the war against HIV/Aids is won.
“If the state fails to intervene, it is obvious that we will lose a big number of the country’s workforce,” said committee chairman Constantine Kanyasu.
The committee announced that as from this October, every person diagnosed with HIV will immediately start using anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) instead of waiting until their CD4 count lowers drastically.
The committee said the government had pledged to step up drug provision to reach out to 1.1 million patients by October this year, although 1.3 million others will not access ARVs.
“The committee has asked the government to inject more money following the withdrawal of or the reduction of assistance from donors; it has no choice but to provide drugs free of charge and allow private sector to import drugs,’’ he said.
