GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOCATED SH5.5BN TO THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED AIDS TRUST FUND (ATF) IN THE 2016/17 FINANCIAL YEAR

Tanzania Commission for Aids (TACAIDS) Executive Director Dr. Leonard Maboko told The Habati Tanzania on Sunday in Dar es Salaam that until now at least Sh935million had been released by the trust fund to fight the pandemic.

He said they also expected funds from various private stakeholders including international and national private donors, individuals and other development partners.

“We are planning the first fundraising event to be held next month (November)” he said.
According to him, the draft foundation documents on how and where to get the resources, resources mobilization and sustainability and advocacy of the ATF was already in place.

The government appointed a board of trustees of the fund in mid July, this year, and it expects to hold its first meeting in the first week of November.

In March, last year, the National Assembly passed the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Amendment Bill, 2014 that among other things, created a special fund to ensure that resources for fighting HIV/AIDS are readily available. The bill was assented to by former President Jakaya Kikwete in April, last year.

The amendment Act separates the executive role from the position of the TACAIDS chairman to allow efficient discharge of duties by the chairman and the newly created position of the fund executive director.

The establishment of an AIDS Trust Fund (ATF) is a major next step for the government to increase its domestic resource allocation for national HIV and AIDS response after major donors, including Canada, Denmark and the United States, decided to reduce funding while some exit entirely.

Establishment of the ATF is viewed as an essential contributory funding mechanism for national response to HIV and AIDS since it mobilizes local resources to fight the disease in view of an imminent reduction in donor funding.

In another development, TACAIDS has confirmed that until now no scientific approval has been made for an HIV/AIDS cure.

Dr. Maboko explained that for the drug to be approved it needs to b e proved that it can treat 90 per cent of patients, below which it can’t get approved.