Debt conversion to finance health programmes

Tanzania is likely to benefit from a new health financing mechanism designed by the government of Germany for its poor countries` debtors.

It is a debt conversion initiative that would see freed debt resources being channeled into the fight against tuberculosis, malaria and Aids.

The Tanzania NGO Alliance Against Malaria (TaNAAM) Coordinator Beatrice Minja recently said in an interview that the debt conversion plan was launched during the Global Fund meeting in Berlin last week in the quest of mobilizing funding for health programs in Africa.

She said Tanzania and other African countries would benefit during the Second Debt 2 Health Initiative expected to roll over next four years, whereby Germany has pledged 200 million Euros for Global Fund health programs for poor countries.

The first Debt 2 Health agreement signed converted 50 million Euros last week for Indonesia on condition that Indonesia invests half of the free-up money into national health programs through the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.

`Germany is the first donor country to support programs of the global fund through debt conversion and has worked alongside the Fund to develop the concept and modalities of the Debt2 Health Initiative, Indonesia being programme`s pilot country,` she added.

In April this year, the Board of the Global Fund approved a two-year pilot phase for Debt2Health four countries.

While Indonesia is the first country to have completed the deal, Kenya, Pakistan and Peru are lined up to benefit from this new financing initiative during its pilot phase, she pointed out.

On top of that, the co-ordinator added that with adequate financing the Global Fund could help malaria endemic countries control spread of the diseases.

This is due to the fact that, testing and accurate diagnosis for Aids and TB has improved considerably in the past decade, though malaria continues to be over-diagnosed.

According to her, more funding is surely needed to improve malaria diagnosis and treatment, monitor parasitic resistance to anti-malaria drugs, scale-up in-door anti-mosquito spraying, and ensure people are consistently using the long-lasting insecticidal nets provides.

`Mosquito nets are not used nearly enough across Africa. The Global Fund and Roll Back Malaria (RBM) have demonstrated that we can work strategically together towards scaling up efforts to control malaria.

But if resources are not available to build on successes and sustain the current momentum, African countries will lose even more people to this preventable and treatable disease,` she insisted.

Global Fund needs at least USD18 billion over the next three years by 2010 to fight the diseases.

About USD 1.7 billion has so far been spent to control the disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, the hardest hit region, accounting for two-thirds of all resources available to control the disease worldwide.

At the annual summit this year, G8 leaders reaffirmed their 2005 commitment fighting AIDS, TB and Malaria, universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

They promised to triple contributions to the Global Fund and provide predictable, long-term additional funding for Aids, TB and malaria to the tune of USD60 billion.