US to increase Aids funding to Uganda

The United States government is committed to increasing funding for Aids treatment to Uganda, a senior US official has said. In a statement, Mr Eric Goosby, the coordinator of the US global Aids Programme-the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), said they would continue to support treatment scale up in Uganda as well as expansion of access to HIV/Aids prevention care services.

“To address the immediate needs, PEPFAR will provide an immediate infusion of anti retroviral drugs to allow partners to refill buffer stocks, avoid stock outs and continue expansion of treatment services,”said Mr Goosby.

Several countries especially in Sub Saharan Africa including Uganda have been severely affected by the global reduction in HIV/Aids spending, with fears that many lives might be cut short because patients cannot get access to life prolonging drugs.

Figures from the Uganda Aids Commission show there are 191,000 HIV positive people currently on ARVs-at least 175,000 of who are directly supported by PEPFAR. But this is still far below the 322,000 who require the drugs currently.

To meet the gap, Mr Goosby said the government must resume the central role in leading the national response on health in general, and HIV/Aids in particular. “While all appreciate the extraordinary US commitment, the US cannot be the sole resource for reaching the shared global goal of universal access to Aids treatment in any country. Resources from other external donors and from each country’s own resources to the extent of its ability, must be found and mobilized,”he explained.

According to Mr Goosby, US Aids funding to Uganda is currently $280 million (about Shs624b) a year and this figure has totaled $1.4 billion (about Shs 2 trillion) since 2004.
“This is a historically high level of funding, particularly in a time of tightening budgets and economic constraints. In fact, the US contributes approximately 70 per cent of all funding for HIV/Aids activities in Uganda,”said Mr Goosby.