Mise à jour le Mardi, 06 Décembre 2011 13:42 Écrit par Awepa Vendredi, 02 Décembre 2011 14:06

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Combating AIDS In Tanzania

Ten Years of TAPAC: Progress Made And Challenges Ahead 

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From left to right: H.E Mohamed Gharib Bilal, Vice-President of Tanzania; Hon. Anna Makinda, Speaker of the Tanzanian Parliament; Hon. Lediana Mafuru Mng'ong'o, MP and Chair of TAPAC
On November 18-20, 2011 Tanzania celebrated the 10 years anniversary of TAPAC, the Tanzanian Parliamentary AIDS Coalition. Established in 2001, after HIV/AIDS in Tanzania had been declared a national disaster, TAPAC has played a key role in the fight against the epidemic. Through its consultation, awareness raising and sensitisation activities over the last decade, TAPAC has succeeded in mobilising MPs and officials at the national and community level and succeeded in bringing HIV/AIDS to the forefront of the political agenda. Concrete steps have been taken to create the appropriate enabling policy and legal environment to combat the epidemic. In 2008, an HIV/AIDS bill was passed to combat stigma and increase access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) and a permanent parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS was established. Today the overall incidence of AIDS in Tanzania is declining and over half of the infected population is receiving ARVs. 
 
AWEPA was recognised as one of TAPAC’s key partners and warmly thanked for its support over the years and its engagement in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Specifically, it has campaigned for children suffering the loss of their parents from HIV/AIDS. Together with UNICEF and others, AWEPA worked across Africa to scale up parliamentary action for these children. The Declaration on Orphans and Other Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, adopted in Cape Town in 2004, recognised the serious and unprecedented threat of HIV/AIDS on development achievements in sub-Saharan Africa and called for strong parliamentary action in supporting children and responding to the epidemic. The following AWEPA-led awareness raising campaign, to which some 500 parliamentarians took part between 2004 and 2009, engendered a series of concrete actions to improve policy and legal frameworks to combat HIV/AIDS in several African countries, including in Tanzania.

To quote just some of the outcomes that can be related to AWEPA’s Campaign on Children and AIDS work over the past years, the parliament of Swaziland established a Portfolio Committee on Children’s Rights and a Steering Committee on OVC in September 2007. The Democratic Republic of Congo made a dedicated budget allocation for the execution of the bill on persons living with HIV/AIDS. In Mozambique, three bills on child protection were passed in the spring of 2008, while in Zambia a parliamentary caucus was established. In Tanzania, as mentioned above, the Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS was established in 2008.

Despite these positive developments, the challenges ahead remain daunting. Tanzania is one of the countries hard hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since the first cases of infection were reported in the early 1980s, it is estimated today that about 2 million people in Tanzania have been infected with the HIV/AIDS virus, equivalent to 7 per cent of the population. Although this figure is decreasing at the national level, infection rates continue to increase in certain regions of the country. In the Iringa region, the infection rate is as high as 14 per cent. HIV/AIDS is cause of death among adult population, primarily from the most productive age groups, with profound socio-economic consequences and devastating impacts on national development. There are today in Tanzania over half and million orphans due to HIV/AIDS.

Also, stigma and discrimination particularly against people living with HIV and AIDS is still prevalent in the society. The continued sensitizing efforts, awareness raising campaigns as well as policy and legislative reforms, have not yet reached the desired outcome. The HIV/AIDS bill that criminalises discrimination and stigma, has yet to be enacted.

Tanzania has endorsed and is committed to achieve the UN’s “Three Zeros” objective (i) zero new HIV infections, (ii) zero discrimination, and (iii) zero AIDS-related deaths by 2015. If this goal is to be reached, efforts to combat the epidemic are to by continued and even stepped-up. This is particularly challenging in a context of declining financial resources, resulting from the financial crisis, economic downturn and current climate of growing uncertainty. In Tanzania, over 90 per cent of the resources currently dedicated to AIDS projects are from donor source.

Going forward, scientific research and innovation to combat the epidemic and reduce its impacts is one key objective. Also of crucial importance is to focus on aid and development effectiveness, to make sure that the current resources dedicated to the aid sector are directed to the right projects and are spent well. Whether from domestic or foreign source, resources must be spent efficiently and in the interest of the populations they are meant for. If parliamentarians, as the constitutionally mandated representatives of the people, are not alert and provided with the tools to oversee aid flows, and to make sure they are reasonably and fairly distributed, there is no guarantee that aid will work.

Aid-reliance is by no means a peculiarity of the health sector and HIV/AIDS spending. Statistics from the OECD suggest that in 2009 Tanzania relied on foreign aid for as much as 35% of its government spending. ODA flows totalled about 3 billion USD, equivalent to 14% of gross national income. Several other developing countries, particularly in Africa, rely on aid in similar proportions. With the risk of these resources declining in the near future, it becomes even more crucial that both donor- and recipient countries ensure that this money is well spent and all development efforts are made sustainable.

As the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness takes place in Busan, what we have learnt from the international aid reform process is that real domestic ownership and accountability are among the key pillars of enhanced aid and development effectiveness. This cannot happen without strong parliaments. Parliamentary approval and democratic scrutiny are the only means by which to ensure that funds are spent well on the right things.

TAPAC represents a very good example of how a concerned group of elected leaders are working to orient efforts and funds towards a key development challenge in the interest of the Tanzanian people.

 For More Information visit AWEPA's Resources Section or Click on a Report Below:

October 2008: Regional Conference: Towards and AIDS Free Generation, Uganda

Octobre 2008: Conférence parlementaire régionale: Vers une génération sans sida, Oeganda

April 2007: Regional Parliamentary Seminar for the Great Lakes Region-Fighting HIV/AIDS, Kenya

Avril 2007: Séminaire Régional: Combattre le HIV et le SIDA, Kenya  

Take a look at the pictures from this event!

 

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