News / Health
Take a leaf from Zim, Mugabe tells SADC
18 Aug 2013 at 19:07hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe says SADC countries should take a leaf from Zimbabwe's HIV and AIDS intervention strategies through the introduction of the AIDS levy.
Mugabe said this during a breakfast meeting of AIDS Watch Africa for SADC Heads of State and Government in Lilongwe, Malawi.
He said the national AIDS levy has been helpful in the face of dwindling donor funding and has assisted the government in the procurement of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for those living with HIV.
With global funding for HIV and AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative AIDS levy, a 3 percent tax on income, has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years.
The levy was introduced in 1999 to compensate for declining donor support.
In her intervention, SADC Chairperson, Dr Joice Banda said the concept of universal counseling and testing should be adopted but there is need for innovative strategies to fund this programme which can assist in ensuring early treatment for the HIV and AIDS patients.
Zimbabwe has been a model for other African countries in the implementation of best practices in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
Some African countries including Tanzania have sent delegations to Zimbabwe to learn about the implementation of the AIDS levy.
The national response to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe is financed through the National Aids Trust Fund (NATF) commonly known as the AIDS levy, Global Fund, bilateral and multilateral institutions.
Zimbabwe has managed to reduce the HIV prevalence rate from a peak of 24 percent to 13 percent.
Mugabe said this during a breakfast meeting of AIDS Watch Africa for SADC Heads of State and Government in Lilongwe, Malawi.
He said the national AIDS levy has been helpful in the face of dwindling donor funding and has assisted the government in the procurement of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for those living with HIV.
With global funding for HIV and AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative AIDS levy, a 3 percent tax on income, has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years.
The levy was introduced in 1999 to compensate for declining donor support.
In her intervention, SADC Chairperson, Dr Joice Banda said the concept of universal counseling and testing should be adopted but there is need for innovative strategies to fund this programme which can assist in ensuring early treatment for the HIV and AIDS patients.
Zimbabwe has been a model for other African countries in the implementation of best practices in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
Some African countries including Tanzania have sent delegations to Zimbabwe to learn about the implementation of the AIDS levy.
The national response to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe is financed through the National Aids Trust Fund (NATF) commonly known as the AIDS levy, Global Fund, bilateral and multilateral institutions.
Zimbabwe has managed to reduce the HIV prevalence rate from a peak of 24 percent to 13 percent.
Source - zbc
