HIV funds failing to reach neediest
The Government’s HIV/Aids funds are failing to reach those most in need, according to MPs.
The British government has pledged £1.5 billion to tackling Aids abroad in the next three years, making the UK the second biggest donor in the world on HIV/Aids.
But a report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Department for International Development’s (DfID) approach lacked clarity and that money granted to global bodies was often not even being spent on HIV/Aids programmes.
It said the Government was not using its influence to ensure the money was spent on the right priorities and criticised the DfID for its policy of handing money straight to foreign governments.
The MPs added that countries with relatively low HIV rates were receiving more than others with higher rates and money was not getting through to the most vulnerable groups, such as women and children.
PAC chairman Edward Leigh said: “The department needs to develop clear criteria to strike the balance between developmental and humanitarian considerations in allocating funding, and between funding other organisations to provide support and responding itself.”
The report also noted that NHS chiefs are hampering the battle against Aids in Africa by recruiting medics from countries devastated by HIV.
It condemned rules that allowed private health companies to recruit doctors and nurses from developing countries, who often ended up with the NHS, and suggested that the recruitment situation “threatened a sustainable response to HIV/Aids” in Africa.
The Government said the findings of the report would be considered.
