Bureaucratic setbacks hamper Global AIDS Fund work

Almost a year after the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria granted US $72 million to the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), there is still uncertainty over how this money should be disbursed.

Global Fund executive director, Richard Feachem, flew into the country last week expecting to sign an agreement allowing the money to be released.

But no agreement was signed. "This is very disappointing. The work is urgent and the money needs to flow - the delay in money means a loss of human lives. These are life and death issues," Feacham was quoted as saying.

The Fund intended the KZN grant to be disbursed to the province through the national treasury. But earlier this year, after the SA National AIDS Council (SANAC) finally approved KZN's proposal, the government resolved to set up a trust under SANAC to control the money.

These setbacks, however, have not been unique to South Africa.

Procedure was also at the centre of a dispute between the Fund and the Tanzanian government. Tanzania's finance ministry insisted it should administer a US $12 million grant for malaria prevention, rather than the country's malaria control programme, which submitted the proposal to the Fund.

The Fund refused to sign the grant agreement until the ministry relented.

According to Fund guidelines, the country's coordinating mechanism must agree on a principal recipient who will distribute the money, Robert Bourgoing, the Fund's communication officer told PlusNews.

Although this process was complicated and often a "tricky" one for governments, it was a crucial step which could not be avoided. "We must be accountable," Bourgoing said.

Once the grant agreement was signed, it was "only a matter of weeks" before the money reached its intended recipients, Bourgoing added.

Meanwhile, other countries like Namibia are trying to avoid these pitfalls. Last year the country was awarded a US $113 million grant over five years, but has had to respond to some outstanding queries by the Fund.

"Although the money was approved in principle, we were asked for more specifics on certain parts of the proposal and we can only get the money once those queries are answered," said Abner Xoagub, vice chairman of the country's technical working group.

Xoagub called on governments to accelerate the process by responding immediately to the Fund's queries. "We can't sit and do nothing, we have to sort out all the logistics now, before the money arrives," he said.

The country is awaiting the next stage: identifying a Local Fund Agent to monitor how the money is spent.

"We hope it arrives by next year - this is our first time and we don't know what to expect. Hopefully we will have less delays than the other countries," he added.