Kenya faces tough conditions for HIV/AIDS funds

The Geneva, Switzerland-based Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has issued a demand to the Kenyan government to account for 720.0 million shillings ($10.1 million) in donations to help the country's sufferers of HIV/AIDS. According to local media reports, the Kenyan authorities were to have responded to the Global Fund's detailed queries about the financing by April 10, with a further deadline of June 30 to provide an action plan for the delivery of the services the money was intended to cover.

Under the terms of the donation, the Kenyan government is supposed to ensure that 140,000 people are provided with antiretroviral drugs on a regular basis. The agreement also includes the following clause: "in addition, a mid-year target should be provided. Failure to reach these targets by such date will result in discontinuation of the grant."

Kenya's Health Minister insists that the problem is with the National AIDS Control Council and non-governmental organizations that have failed to provide audited returns for funds provided to them. Charity Ngilu told the AllAfrica newspaper that the Ministry "has been able to account for $26.0 million which it has been allocated for HIV/AIDS programs. However, the NACC and NGOs working under it had not yet surrendered their accounts for $2.5 million out of the $10.0 million they had received."