Global Fund Rejects SA proposal. 24/10/08

October 24, 2008
IOL HIV-AIDS
By Anél Powell

A "poor" proposal submitted by the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) for critical international funding for HIV/Aids and tuberculosis programmes has been turned down, costing the country R1.1-billion and the Western Cape R600-million in lost funding for the next five years.

Sanac deputy chair Mark Heywood confirmed on Thursday that South Africa's proposal to the Global Fund had been unsuccessful because of "incapacity" and the absence of co-operation from then-health minister Manto Tshabalala- Msimang.

"The quality of the proposal was poor. We did not have the co-operation of the former health minister."

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria said in its response that the proposal put forward by Sanac "had no merit".

The fund provides a quarter of all international financing for Aids globally, as well as two thirds for TB and three quarters for malaria.

But Sanac will have to wait until next year to apply again for funding, so plans to increase the Health Department's capacity to curb the spread of TB will have to be put on hold.

Robin Carlisle, a Democratic Alliance MP, said the blunder by national government had "derailed" the province's attempts to control TB and HIV/Aids infection.

Carlisle said the province's proposal for R600-million had to be approved by Sanac before it could be considered by the Global Fund. Sanac, however, had initially delayed giving its approval and had then reworked the proposal.

"Its rewrite was so inept that the Global Fund turned down the request."

Heywood said Sanac should not be blamed for the poor proposal submitted to the fund.

"We are working hard to sort out the problems and we are conscious of what the problems were."

Heywood said Sanac would work with newly-appointed Health Minister Barbara Hogan on the country's proposal for the ninth round of donor funding.

January is the next deadline for concept proposals - which must show how the planned projects fit in with the national strategy for HIV/Aids and TB, include relevant work experience in the field, and the relevance of the proposed projects.

South Africa is to hear in May whether its application for round eight funding was successful. The fund had requests from more than 90 countries for $6.4-billion in the last round.

Carlisle said the lost funding meant the province's TB programme would have to be "drastically curtailed", placing a strain on its health budget.

"The ultimate responsibility for this debacle rests with the national minister of health, who was (Tshabalala-Msimang).

"The DA is outraged that the outstanding work being done by the province to contain and treat the twin scourges of HIV/Aids and TB has been sabotaged, if not by design, then by ineptitude and stupidity."

The losing of the grant would be referred to the legislature for discussion.