Health experts said Monday that Zimbabwe’s gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS could be eroded if the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria adopts a decision by its technical review panel not to fund Zimbabwe’s Round 10 proposal.
A spokesperson for the Global Fund confirmed the technical panel had not recommended funding of the country’s latest HIV and TB grant requests.
But Jon Liden said it is not unusual for proposals to be rejected, adding that Zimbabwe has enough funds coming from the organization to keep its programs going.
Coordinator Gilles Van Cutsen of the medical relief group Doctors Without Borders said the Global Fund should reconsider its decision.
Cutsen told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that the failure to recommend funding of the proposal is a disaster for Zimbabwe, noting that other countries in the region such as Lesotho and Mozambique have also seen their latest bids rejected.
Programs manager Raymond Yekeye of the National Aids Council said Zimbabwe must look to other sources for funding to ensure gains are not rolled back.