Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Global Fund has extended a US$500 million grant to Zimbabwe for the next round of funding towards fighting HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria with US$25 million expected to be channeled to aid in the Coronavirus preparedness for the country.
In a briefing with the media on his arrival in Bulawayo on Wednesday afternoon, the Global Fund Executive Director, Mr Peter Sands, said they were finalising the grant and would have the all modalities in the next few days.
“The Global Fund has a long-standing effective partnership with Zimbabwe which has seen the grant increasing from US$477 million currently to US$500 for the next three years. We are in the process where the specific programme submissions are being made around how the US$500 million is going to be invested.
“It is a very timely moment for me to be here because essentially the decisions are being made now about how to commit this significant amount of money. I am also conscious that Zimbabwe is one of the top ten countries that Global Fund funds in the world and I think I am the first executive director of the Global Fund to ever visit Zimbabwe and the first to visit Bulawayo and I am delighted to do this,” he said.
Mr Sands said what they had seen in Zimbabwe was very significant progress in fighting TB, HIV and Malaria.
“Zimbabwe is one for the very few countries on the continent that we have seen that has succeeded getting to 95 percent of HIV positive people being on Antiretroviral treatment. That is a significant achievement. Zimbabwe’s success rate of TB treatment stands at 88 percent and it compares very favorably with some of the most advanced health care systems in the world
“If you look at the story of Malaria we have seen an 84 percent reduction of malaria incidence and a 75 percent reduction in malaria deaths. These are achievements that partners, the Global Fund and the government of Zimbabwe should be proud of. These are achievements that are making an enormous difference in the lives of Zimbabweans,” emphasized Mr Sands.
He however, said the battle was not yet over.
“Malaria and TB are formidable adversaries if you are not winning against them, you are losing because they fight back. There are still too many new infections of HIV, there are still too many cases of drug resistant TB, people are still dying from them and there are still much smaller numbers of people dying from Malaria.
“So, the focus in the next three-year cycle of our partnership will be very much on reducing the incidences of new cases for HIV, of really trying to get to elimination of malaria, that’s the ambition and particularly focusing on the drug resistant forms of TB,” he said.
Mr Sands is set to visit Global Find Projects in Umguza and Nyamandlovu in Matabeleland North province on Thursday to have an appreciation of the work that is being done.
“It is really important for us back in Geneva not to just to be reading power point presentations and slides where people describe things but to have a sense of things on the ground,”.
Mr Sands said Zimbabwe played two roles, an advocacy role to persuade donors to pledge funds and it also pledged US$1 million its self.
Mr Sands said it was indicative of Zimbabwe’s commitment to the people and also to be a supporter to the Global Fund and not only a recipient.
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