By Kuda Pembere
SAfAIDS Zimbabwe on Thursday launched the 2024 Zimbabwe HIV Prevention Shadow Report where the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) together withe the National AIDS Council (NAC) were tasked to complete Zimbabwe’s HIV national prevention roadmap by September this year.
Presenting the report on Thursday, SAfAIDS Regional Policy & Advocacy Specialist, Adolf Mavheneke said since the country participated in the formation of the Global HIV Prevention coalition attending all regional meetings, the HIV prevention roadmap has not been localized.
What our specific advocacy asks against the change that we want to see, we’ve got four Code 4 under the United For Prevention Coalition? The first one is the National AIDS Council and the Ministry of Health and Child Care should finalize and launch the Zimbabwe HIV prevention Roadmap by September 2024,” he said. “The next one, the National AIDS Council and the Ministry of Health and Child Care identifies, defines, and include clear milestones for the implementation of the roadmap prior to action points in collaboration with civil society and community networks by June 2024.”
In the report, it was also recommended that the country meets the 15 percent Abuja target.
“While audited accounts for the National AIDS Levy have historically been shared on NAC’s website, a comprehensive breakdown of the HIV budget is not available, was not available then. The proportion of HIV funding provided for donors for the 2022 and 2023 period is or was not available, but UNAIDS estimates it to be around 44percent in 2021,” Mr Mavheneke said. “There was the health levy which was in place which is 5percent tax from mobile airtime data and the AIDS levy which is levy of 3percent tax from individuals, companies and trusts. And this was established back then, I remember at the inception of the National AIDS Council.”
Mr Mavheneke added, “However, there were concerns and there was little transparency on where this money goes.”
He said Government seem to be mum on the rolling out of the national health insurance.
“Another point of observation is it is unclear whether government still plans to roll out the national health insurance. There was discussion about the national health insurance, but from a civil side perspective we are not sure whether government is seized with this information. We always need to increase domestic funding for health.
“And our target is the 15 percent as pronounced under the Abuja 2015 agreement. We need to publish the annual health budget and accounts in full, clearly showing the budget allocation and spending for each of the five pillars so that the level of investment can be checked over time, providing transparency on how the 5percent levy is being spent,” Mr Mavheneke said.
Parliamentary Portfolio committee on Health and Child care chairperson Hon Daniel Molokele said it was important to come up realistic budgetary demands.
“So, in Zimbabwe, we are doing very badly. I don’t know whether you are aware that in the last budget we actually reduced our funding percentage from the previous budget. And not only that, there is another, you know people talk about the devil being in the detail.
“There is another realistic issue that you need to be concerned about. What the minister announces on budget day and what along the year are two different things. Every ministry, not every ministry, but most of the ministries, they get far less displacement of the allocation.
