Governments need to value their people

Former Nigerian health minister Olikoye Ransome-Kuti on Monday accused some African governments of corruption and stealing the bulk of funds meant for the purchase of medical drugs, PANA reported. He told the ongoing 11th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Lusaka that due to inefficiency and the wastage of drugs, only US $12 worth of drugs eventually got to the patient out of every US $100, according to World Bank estimates. Kuti said many of the HIV/AIDS patients could be saved and the epidemic effectively controlled in Africa if governments valued the lives of their people and looked critically at the ways funds were being spent, PANA reported. "Donors no longer listen to our whines," he said. "I am also sure they will respond promptly when our countries demonstrate a determination to care for the people. "Even now, out of a total expenditure of 141 million dollars on AIDS reported from 25 sub-Saharan African countries in 1996, the countries contributed only US $13 million - 9 percent of the total, whilst 91 percent came from donors."