Philippine legislator wants AIDS fund probed
MANILA, Philippines—Iloilo (1st District) Rep. Janet Garin calls on the government to investigate the “health” of the AIDS fund as cases of the disease now reaching almost a pandemic proportions.
In a statement sent to media, Garin said that the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, one of country’s biggest donors for HIV and AIDS programs had already suspended all five of its grants to the Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF) in the Philippines after reports of unauthorized expenditure. TDF is a Department of Health (DOH)-supervised institution and co-chaired by the Secretary of Health.
“As a medical doctor, I am disheartened that this happened to one of our foreign partners in improving the health outcomes in this country for years,” she said.
Citing a report from the Office of the Inspector General, she said that around US$1 Million (P46,707,999.11, based on February 10 Forex), out of the total $85 million (P3.97 billion) disbursements for the AIDS prevention and intervention funds were spent illegally, or beyond the Grant’s terms and condition.
Garin, who is also a doctor says that she is disheartened by the incident and urges the authorities take the necessary actions to know what really transpired and what the accountability of the DOH is, as it performs a supervisory role in the implementation of the Global Fund Grants.
On December 2009, the DOH has sounded the alarm of the sudden increase of the number of people positive with human immune-deficiency virus (HIV), especially among the young people.
The Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry reported that for October 2009, 80 new HIV cases have been confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory. This was a 36% increase compared to the same period last year (59 in 2008). This brought the total of cases for 2009 to 626. Four (4) of these new cases were reported as AIDS. There was no death reported for the month of October.
In a statement sent to media, Garin said that the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, one of country’s biggest donors for HIV and AIDS programs had already suspended all five of its grants to the Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF) in the Philippines after reports of unauthorized expenditure. TDF is a Department of Health (DOH)-supervised institution and co-chaired by the Secretary of Health.
“As a medical doctor, I am disheartened that this happened to one of our foreign partners in improving the health outcomes in this country for years,” she said.
Citing a report from the Office of the Inspector General, she said that around US$1 Million (P46,707,999.11, based on February 10 Forex), out of the total $85 million (P3.97 billion) disbursements for the AIDS prevention and intervention funds were spent illegally, or beyond the Grant’s terms and condition.
Garin, who is also a doctor says that she is disheartened by the incident and urges the authorities take the necessary actions to know what really transpired and what the accountability of the DOH is, as it performs a supervisory role in the implementation of the Global Fund Grants.
On December 2009, the DOH has sounded the alarm of the sudden increase of the number of people positive with human immune-deficiency virus (HIV), especially among the young people.
The Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry reported that for October 2009, 80 new HIV cases have been confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory. This was a 36% increase compared to the same period last year (59 in 2008). This brought the total of cases for 2009 to 626. Four (4) of these new cases were reported as AIDS. There was no death reported for the month of October.
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My Reflection
It is very saddening to know that cases of AIDS in our country has continue to rise. Questions, then, popped up in my mind; Are these present cases of AIDS the result of poor implementation of the RH Bill ( Reproductive Health Bill)? Or is it because the government officials fail to sustain funds needed for this widespread issue?
Personally, I, myself, cannot find a concrete answer nor any possible solutions for this problem. I am confused on why our agency – DOH, has this kind of issue. I mean, with all due respect, if they are currently implementing this law ( RH Bill) to control our population, and to prevent contagious diseases, then there must not have been any problem for this. I think what becomes the concern now, especially to our government, is how to equally allocate resources- medicines, pills, ect., among Fililipinos. Basically, the issue here lies among the people itself; the people managing funds, producing these funds into resources and allocating these resources to everybody in an honest and most equal ways. This shouldn't exclude our fellow indigenous people who are less educated. With rapid increase of AIDS cases here, these indigens become the target or most probably the ones who mostly suffer the deadly disease.
To end my discourse, I would like to reiterate that health should be highly prioritized by the government, and that it is necessary to have sustainable funds for AIDS. We all know that nothing can cure such disease. However, prevention is still better than cure. And with the help of proper funding, it can be helpful for the citizens. These funds can be used to conduct reproductive health programs and provide medicines. Let us also hope and pray that government officials practice honesty in their actions, especially in dealing with the national funds of the Philippines.
