I have been involved in World AIDS Day events for many years. In the early days of the epidemic, when no-one was in the least bit interested in talking about HIV and AIDS we organised marches, concerts in the park, distributed red ribbons and hoped people would wear them. In those days we even had to pay for space to have AIDS inserts in newspapers. We were desperate to be heard, for people to take seriously what we knew was a crisis that was about to happen.
Decades on, and many things have changed - we can celebrate the fact that we have made advances in treatment and prevention, fewer babies are born with HIV, people live longer, condoms are more accessible, HIV is in school curricula, people living with HIV have a voice, marginalised populations are acknowledged.
The response is in no way perfect but we are light years away from the dark days of the late 80s and early 90s. So why, today, am I feeling the same level of frustration and anger that I felt when nobody was listening?
The recent announcement from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria that it does not have enough money to finalise Round 10 grants or to open Round 11 is simply devastating and has immense implications for southern Africa, In short, it demonstrates ZERO commitment from developed nations to HIV and AIDS, to Africa, to women,to marginalised communities, to people living in poverty.
It is unclear the exact effects that this ZERO commitment will have on the region but it is safe to say that many men, women and children will die – simply because they will lose their access to life saving medication for HIV and TB. In a talk show on the radio yesterday, it was pointed out that the US$1.3 billion pledged - but not yet given - by the United States represents just 16 HOURS of spending by the Pentagon on America's military machine. That puts into perspective how seriously the US views its commitment to Africa. And the same is true for other Northern nations.
So how did we get into this mess?
We all need to take some responsibility – civil society, governments and most certainly the Global Fund itself. But the blame must rest mainly on the shoulders of the countries who can afford to give but do not care enough to do so. Many of these countries are shying away from the Fund saying that the levels of corruption are too high. This may be a valid argument – and as civil society we need to play a greater watchdog role to ensure accountability - but do you jeopardise the lives of so many because of the greed of a few?
And where does this leave us?
We are at a critical moment in the response to HIV – and as a region we can either push forward and build on the gains, or we can sit back, do nothing and deal with an HIV and AIDS crisis that we thought we had averted. As civil society, now more than ever, we have an imperative to act. In the midst of this crisis, we must use the situation as an opportunity to get our governments to commit to the provision of treatment and not be dependent on foreign aid, which is itself dependent on the whim of others.
But we must also hold those nations that pledged money to account and pressurise them into handing over the full amount to the Global Fund - and then push them to give even more.
The struggle is far from over.
By Dr Vicci Tallis, HIV and AIDS Programme Manager, OSISA
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