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The Global Fund has thrown out Namibia's round eight application for US$160 million to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, after the country failed to meet standards set by the Fund's technical review panel, government said Thursday.
Health Minister Richard Kamwi said that the Fund had rejected the application, adding that the health sector would have to tighten its belt to cope with the budgetary constraints.
"We actually submitted the proposal on time and all experts were positive about the proposal. It is a billion dollar question why we did not get the funds," Kamwi said.
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He disclosed that the ministry is now working on submissions for round nine application.
The independent Technical Review Panel (TRP), which considered the grants and referred them to the Board of the Global Fund for approval at the last meeting in November, did, once again, not find the Namibian proposal on HIV-AIDS to be of sound technical quality.
The result is that, with the current Global Fund money running out next year, there could be a funding gap because the next round for the consideration of proposals is only in November next year.
The first and only HIV-AIDS funding Namibia received from the Global Fund was US$104 million in 2002 but it took them around two years to disburse it.
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Namibia ranks among the top five worst HIV-affected countries in the world.
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One of the key drivers of the epidemic is the high levels of multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships in a society with very low levels of marriage," Namibia wrote in the rejected proposal.
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The Government and its partners were also hoping to use part of the money to train more nurses, pharmacists and other medical staff to cope with the disease as well as provide more support to orphans and vulnerable children.
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It was submitted after several consultations, including the one on April 2 this year which was attended by 119 delegates of the private sector, Government, faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations and people living with HIV-AIDS.
Namibia's failure to secure the funds comes as a blow because Namibia was recently recognised by UNAIDS as an example of good work done to curb the disease.
Yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Kahijoro Kahuure, took out an advertisement in daily newspapers to inform the AIDS fraternity about the Global Fund decision but also to indicate that they will start working on a new proposal that will be submitted before the end of May next year.