Global Fund management fees negotiations to benefit Zim

ZIMBABWE is set to benefit as the Global Fund to Fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) is negotiating to lower management fees charged by its principal recipients before they are availed to the country, a senior official with the international organisation has said.

Speaking to journalists during a regional meeting on revitalising HIV prevention strategies in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) health community recently, GFATM chief of staff in the office of the executive director Ms Marijke Wijnroks said they were negotiating with principal recipients to reduce the 10 percent handling fees charged to allow for more money to go towards programming.

Government has been receiving its grants through the UNDP since 2008 and the organisation has been deducting 10 percent as management fees from the Zimbabwe grant.

Ms Wijnroks said the GFATM was looking forward to successful discussions on lowering the management fees so that a huge chunk of the money goes into programming.

She commended Zimbabwe for its successful initiative on domestic resource mobilisation, describing it as a best practice in the world.

“Zimbabwe clearly is a success story globally in fighting HIV,” said Ms Wijnroks. “Zimbabwe has demonstrated the leadership and commitment to mitigate this epidemic.

“It was the first country to introduce HIV tax (also known as the Aids Levy), so Zimbabwe is really a best practice when it comes to HIV.”

Ms Wijnroks said GFATM supported the country’s latest stance to also focus more on prevention of HIV and the country could apply for additional funding specifically to address the needs of key populations.

Zimbabwe’s key populations are young women and adolescents, sex workers, long distant truck drivers and prisoners.

Ms Wijnroks said this additional funding was applied through a process known as catalytic funding, which is basically double the amount of money applied for in key populations.

Meanwhile, GFATM country coordinator Mr Oscar Mundida said the country should continue exploring ways of funding its own programmes.

Appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care yesterday, Mr Mundida said conversations with the Global Fund were beginning to be skewed towards transition from donor dependence to sustainable domestic funding.

“GF is only catering for treatment; our submissions are just on treatment,” he said. “It is under this background that GF is talking of transition, where countries should take full ownership of their programmes.”

Mr Mundida said the country was not sure if it will continue getting grants from the Global Fund considering the transition talks, hence parliamentarians should begin to lobby for increased domestic funding towards HIV programming.

“Global Fund has told us that it will continue supporting the 710 000 people on treatment, meaning $389 million is going towards HIV treatment alone,” he said. “We seriously need to engage the Minister of Finance to resource mobilise for prevention,” he said.

“Come 2021, we don’t know if we will get anything from GF on that next round. I’m challenging this committee to show its effectiveness by lobbying the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to play its role in health funding, as well as increasing the already existing funding.”