Increase funding for TB, HIV/AIDS fight-US

Wed, 15 Feb 2017 10:15:15 +0000

By KALOBWE BWALYA

GOVERNMENT should increase funding towards the fight against tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria in the country, says the visiting delegation from United States of America.

Speaking when they paid a courtesy call on Justice minister Given Lubinda, RESULTS education fund, an all-volunteer advocacy organization fighting HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, said it was important that Government completed the 650 health posts under construction country-wide so that people can have access to quality health services.

Results representative on board of directors, Elizabeth Wilson, said health posts were important to the people of Zambia to enhance service delivery. They urged Government to follow through its commitment to provide matching funds allocated to the country from the Global Fund to fight these diseases.

“We are very happy about the response from Government that it was committed to ensure that the health posts were completed in time despite the delay and that Government will continue building health posts, district and tertiary hospitals,” said Ms Wilson.

She said Government needed to complete the remaining 350 health posts which were targeted for completion last year but due to some challenges it could not beat the deadline; hoping that this year the remaining 350 posts would be completed.

She said RESULTS education fund is aimed to strengthen health systems and services in Zambia by ensuring that TB, HIV /AIDS and malaria were tackled through the primary healthcare approach. It was the organisation’s mission to create the public and political will to end poverty by empowering individuals to exercise their personal choices and power to end poverty.

And Mr Lubinda assured the delegation that Government was committed to ensuring that the health posts were completed and handed over to the public by the end of this year so that the people stopped covering long distances to access health services.

Mr Lubinda said the construction of the health posts in each district would enable Government to provide primary health care to the people as close to their homes as possible because it was their human right to acquire quality health service.

“Most people in rural areas find it hard to access proper medical care because health facilities are far from their homes, but with the construction of these health posts in every district, distance will not be a problem anymore,” said the minister.

Meanwhile, Citamplus policy and advocacy officer Nathan Nhlane said the programme was about creating citizens to become advocates by holding its Members of Parliament to fulfil their promises that they make during campaigns.

He said among them was the delay in completion of the 650 health posts which were supposed to executed last year in April, then it was extended to October but they are not yet completed.

Mr Nhlane said Citamplus wanted to know when the Government would fulfill the US $3 million pledged to the Global Funds.