Expert says global financial crisis to worsen Africa's HIV/AIDS predicament

The global financial crisis is likely to worsen Africa's HIV/AIDS situation as donor countries cut back funding to focus on national priorities, Uganda' s leading HIV/AIDS research expert has warned.

Prof. Peter Mugenyi, Director of Uganda Joint Clinical Research Center, said here on Wednesday that as the crisis continues to ravage western economies, funding towards the HIV/AIDS fight in Africa is reducing.

"People who help us have been hit by a serious financial crisis. This has set back funding and yet the AIDS crisis is getting worse," he said.

The expert called on African states to utilize the meager resources to fight the pandemic, which is on an upward scale, instead of waiting for donor funds.

Mugenyi was opening a three-day HIV/AIDS conference for the African military, organized by the African Union under the sponsorship of the Institute for Security Studies, a regional human security policy think tank.

"We should not sit and wait for the Americans, Europeans. We should get involved because we have the biggest problem. We should get involved in finding solutions," he said, noting that all efforts to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine have failed.

The professor further warned that within the next 10 years Africa will have the biggest number of drug resistant HIV/AIDS because drugs are not administered well with some being shared among patients.

He said the effect of this will be very difficult to reverse since the continent is resource constrained.

According to Mugenyi, there are currently 25 million people in Africa living with HIV and only 3 million of them are on treatment." For every two people on treatment, five are getting infected, we are mopping the floor while the tap is flowing," he said, noting that the continent has a serious challenge of dealing with prevention.

The conference attended by over 60 participants including senior military officers from 15 African countries will discuss HIV/AIDS and the African Military, HIV/AIDS and peace keeping in Africa, managing the impact of HIV/AIDS in the military, among others.


Participants attend the opening ceremony of the HIV/AIDS Conference for the African Military at Nile Resort Hotel in Jinja, eastern Uganda on March 11, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)
Experts said while concern over how HIV/AIDS affects Africa's armed forces has increased, there is little known regarding the extent to which the militaries are being affected.

The senior military officers at this meeting are considering forming a network that will be used to increase the fight against the pandemic which has greatly affected the armed forces.