Donors pledge $26.5 million for health services

A group of donors has pledged US $26.5 million in aid of health services in Tanzania, including the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. The technical advisor with the Danish embassy in Dar es Salaam, Finn Schleimann, told PlusNews on Friday that the pledge by Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and the World Bank was for one year. He said the largest proportion of the money would be channelled to the district level to fund council health plans. He said the the pledge was part of a continuing "basket funding arrangement" established in 1999. "Outside the basket, many donors, including most basket funders, are supporting the health sector through various projects," he added. The permanent secretary in Tanzania's Ministry of Health, Mariam Mwafissi, signed an agreement for a joint health review with a representative of the donors on Wednesday. Schleimann said another agreement would be signed between the donors and permanent secretaries in the ministries on finance, the president's office in charge of regional administration and the local government. News organisations reported on Wednesday that donors had pledged about $48 million to the Tanzanian government to support efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country for the period between 2003 and 2006.