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Overdependence on donors worries Manet+

The Malawi Network of People Living with HIV (Manet+) has said it is worried about overreliance on donor funding towards the national response on HIV, Aids, saying the situation threatens sustainability of lifesaving programmes.

Manet+ executive director Safari Mbewe said this on Tuesday at a press briefing in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, prior to the 2012 annual conference for people living with HIV scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in the district.

“Our worry is that nationally, the response to HIV and Aids is still externally funded. Almost 90 percent of funding to the national response is still from donors like the Global Fund who fund almost the entire programme on HIV and Aids treatment.

“This raises questions of sustainability of the programmes and interventions. We cannot leave lives of people living with HIV in the hands of donors. Government should do more to commit its own resources to the interventions,” said Mbewe.

He said Manet+ is also worried about continued stigma and discrimination which he said is a major reason high-profile people living with HIV keep hiding.

“We are making headway, but there is still a lot that needs to be done. Most of the elite do not want to come out and associate with the network [Manet+],” said Mbewe.

Coalition of Women and Girls Living with HIV and Aids (Cowlha) national coordinator Annie Banda said chiefs in some districts deny HIV positive persons subsidised fertiliser coupons.

About 100 delegates from the three regions are expected to attend the annual national conference under the theme Putting Research Findings into Practice, said Mbewe.

 

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