Blunder in South African health dept costs Aids NGOs dearly

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As a result of mismanagement within the South African Health Department, thirteen HIV/Aids organisations have been left severely underfunded. Some of them are even forced to retrench staff and stop some of their programmes.

Last week, the department admitted that it had failed to channel US$3.9 million in donor money from the Global Fund to 13 HIV/AIDS organisations and NGOs. 

According to Global Fund spokesperson Jon Lidén, the grant was delivered to the health department in mid-November. He blamed the fact that the recipient organisations have yet to receive their shares on the department's slow and inefficient system for dispersing funds.

One of the victims is the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), one of the largest AIDS action groups in the country. The NGO revealed that it was experiencing a financial crisis as a result of the delay and that is forced to retrench 20 percent of its staff and cut back its treatment literacy programme.

Other organisations affected by the funding delay are Soul City, the Society for Family Health, Humana People to People, Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa, Moretele Sunrise Hospice, Catholic Health Care, South African Council of Churches, Mindset Network, Redpeg, HOPE Worldwide, South Africa Anxiety Depression Group and Child Welfare SA.