Global HIV/National Health Systems Efforts Examined

FRIDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- The global HIV/AIDS industry has grown too big and is weakening national health delivery systems and diverting needed funds away from other pressing health care issues, argues an editorial published in the May 10 issue of BMJ.

Roger England, chairman of Health Systems Workshop in Grenada, West Indies, explains how programs like UNAIDS, a joint United Nations venture targeting HIV and AIDS worldwide, has misused its funds and harmed health systems in developing countries.

England notes that worldwide, the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS each year is equivalent to deaths of children under age 5 in India alone. Thus, while HIV/AIDS is responsible for 3.7 percent of mortality, a full 25 percent of international health care aid and a large amount of domestic expenditure goes towards HIV spending. Furthermore, much of this funding is spent on independent organizational structures that weaken national health delivery systems and create dependency on aid. England argues that funding for HIV should take a backseat role to the fostering of sustainable health systems in developing nations.

England summarizes by quoting Mozambique's health minister: "The reality in many countries is that funds are not needed specifically for AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria. Funds are firstly and mostly needed to strengthen national health systems so that a range of disease and health conditions can be managed effectively."

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