Civil Society Advocacy Forum on HIV and related Conditions (CSAF) says funds are needed for distribution of condoms to hard to reach areas in order to prevent new cases of HIV infections.
Speaking with reporters on Monday in Salima, Chairperson of the organization David Kamkwamba said that inadequate funding in the Ministry of Health has brought a lot challenges that are affecting many programs more especially regarding HIV and AIDS in the country.
He said unavailability of condoms in workplaces and rural areas due to lack of funding has been a challenge for some time now and the situation is contributing to new HIV infections.
“In HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, we are largely dependent on donors and this has been there for some time now so our fear is that if these donors say they cannot continue supporting the country, it means we will wake up to a crisis because as l am talking you there are people that are on treatment which is very critical,” he explained.
He asked the private sector to be part and parcel of the health financing agenda. Kamkwamba suggested that the health financing strategy should be implemented and supported with a law in order to address some of the challenges that have been there due to financial situation.
In Malawi, condoms are said to have averted 117,000 HIV infection between 2010 and 2020. Malawi revised NSP (2023-2027) has targeted to reduce HIV to 7,700 from 11,000 infection annually.
