- Complacency might reverse gains
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Stakeholders involved in the fight against malaria, Tuberculosis (TB), and HIV/Aids have begun a search for a formidable way for source for local funding for the continuous response against the disease.
At a harmonization of strategies for domestic resources mobilisation for HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria meeting in Abuja, the stakeholders comprising National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, The Global Fund, Civil Society Groups, Community Based Organizations, among others said the move was in response to the recent decision of White House to halt funding for the treatment of some ailments.
Ayo Ipinmoye, the First Vice Chairman, Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism, told journalists at the meeting that the decision of the White House has served as a wake-up call for Nigeria and perhaps, African countries that heavily rely on external funding.
He said: “For too long we have waited and rely on other countries to fund the work that we do. And we have been arguing and advocating that the most important attribute that a person has is their health. So, collectively, we can not give out the responsibility for our health to other people. So, what we need to do is to pay for the things that make for the good health of Nigerians.
“In order to do that, the civil society has a role to play in advocacy and keeping up with the government and partners and those who are responsible to ensure that they appropriate enough money for health. So, for us to be able to do this, we can not, as civil society across different diseases and thematic areas, continue to work alone, but work together.
“We can see what is happening globally. The countries that have been putting resources in health are pulling back. They are also arguing that they have their own domestic problems that they need to resolve. And there’s something we call donors’ fatigue which is when donors have been putting money on the same thing over and over, whether it’s malaria, TB, cancer or HIV, and and yet the result stays flat. Then, at a point, they also begin to think that maybe we should allow these countries to use their own resources.
“Part of the thinking is that if national and domestic resources are used, there will be more efficiency, more value for money. But the good thing is that this is forcing us to think, to strategize and ensure that the money that we bring out from our national budget achieve its purposes. Now we know that when somebody else is paying, we don’t take it too seriously.
“For too long, we have not understood that good health outcomes come from partnerships between the government, the private sector, and the community. So, it’s not government alone that is going to do that. We have big companies in Nigeria that are not giving back to strengthen the health of the people that they are making money from.
“So, it is time for us to also ensure that the social responsibilities of these companies are in place. Then, the third thing is the community level. There are also resources that communities can bring, maybe not money, but the appropriate utilization of the products.
“For instance, the government and partners like the U.S. government, Global Fund, World Bank, buy and distribute mosquuto nets. But rather than sleep inside the nets, our people use the nets for fishing, clothing, and so many other things. And yet, in spite of all the monies that these partners have put in place, the outcomes have not changed. That falls back to the communities.
“As we are holding government accountable, we need to hold ourselves accountable to be sure that the resources that the government put there are working well. So, there are responsibilities at different levels.”
Dr. Queen Ogbuji-Ladipo, Board Chairman, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, told journalists at the meeting that the time has come for an in-country solution to funding challenges as regards the fight against malaria, TB, cancer, HIV/Aids, among others.
“Response to several of these have been working in silos. But this dwindling funding from the external sources has obviously forced us to come together to have a good framework for local funding.
“The civil society organisations have the ‘push power’ to champion the cause local resource mobilisation, and that’s what we are trying to achieve. And we are optimistic that we would succeed.”
She confirmed that the Stop TB Partnership Nigeria is championing the course because of the level importance it attached to harmonised response to health care financing in Nigeria.
On his side, Ibrahim Tajudeen, Executive Secretary, Country Coordinating Mechanism, Global Fund, Nigeria, said that Nigeria has been finding it difficult to meet the 15 per cent co-financing requirement to access the Global Fund.
“To reverse the trend, we need to strengthen partnerships with states, and the civil society organisations will play a key role in doing that, and that’s why we organised the workshop to deliberate on ways we could achieve that goal.
“The bulk of health financing for HIV, TB, malaria, and several others in the last 10 years have been from foreign partners. Things have changed with the coming of Donald Trump as the US president. So, we need to find solutions to the challenge of funding for the diseases.”