Source: Xinhua
03-12-2009 16:30
Special Report: Tech MaxJINJA, Uganda, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The global financial crisis is likely to worsen Africa's HIV/AIDS situation as donor countries cut back funding to focus on national priorities, Uganda' s leading HIV/AIDS research expert has warned.
 |
| Representatives from Uganda People's Defense Force attend the opening ceremony of the HIV/AIDS Conference for the African Military at Nile Resort Hotel in Jinja, eastern Uganda on March 11, 2009. The three-day conference, organized by the African Union, attracted over 60 participants from 15 African countries. The armies from central, southern, western and central African countries are planning to form a network to fight HIV in the military. (Xinhua Photo) |
Prof. Peter Mugenyi, Director of Uganda Joint Clinical Research Center, said here on Wednesday that as the crisis continues to ravage western economies, funding towards the HIV/AIDS fight in Africa is reducing.
"People who help us have been hit by a serious financial crisis. This has set back funding and yet the AIDS crisis is getting worse," he said.
The expert called on African states to utilize the meager resources to fight the pandemic, which is on an upward scale, instead of waiting for donor funds.
Mugenyi was opening a three-day HIV/AIDS conference for the African military, organized by the African Union under the sponsorship of the Institute for Security Studies, a regional human security policy think tank.
"We should not sit and wait for the Americans, Europeans. We should get involved because we have the biggest problem. We should get involved in finding solutions," he said, noting that all efforts to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine have failed.
The professor further warned that within the next 10 years Africa will have the biggest number of drug resistant HIV/AIDS because drugs are not administered well with some being shared among patients.
He said the effect of this will be very difficult to reverse since the continent is resource constrained.
