The news titled “Half the HIV & AIDS donation spent on administration” that was published in Naya Patrika on August 18th has caught our attention. It is a hard reality that individuals, families and communities are still suffering from HIV and AIDS despite billions of international aid money are being poured in the name of combating HIV & AIDS in the country. The large sum of the fund thus availed however are not reaching the infected and affected population. As a result, the infected people are not getting entitled treatment, care and support thus leading faster towards their AIDS related death. As an organization working in the field of HIV & AIDS, we have been facing this cruel reality daily. It is a pity that the money that is coming to country in the name of people infected and affected by HIV & AIDS is actually not reaching the entitled but is being spent by few giant and powerful organizations in the name of administrative cost.

The news has revealed the reasons why the aid provided by Global Fund is not reaching the infected and affected people. We seriously condemn the act of misuse of the aid money in the name of administration by few powerful individuals and organizations centered in the capital city. The money they are wasting can actually alleviate the impact of disease to individuals infected and affected by HIV and AIDS if used properly.

Therefore, we strongly demand for the proper disbursement of the aid money provided by the seventh and eighth rounds of global fund. We also call for maximization of the fund amount that actually reaches the intended beneficiaries who are in dire need of it. It is the individuals infected and affected by HIV and AIDS and communities at risk who should be the real beneficiaries and not few powerful individuals and giant organizations. It is our appeal to all the concerned authorities that they should pay serious attention to proper disbursement of the fund in order to ensure maximum benefit of the target people. Additionally, we assert that the organization that allocates maximum budget to target communities and minimal budget for administration should be selected as a primary recipient of the fund. We also necessitate the unremitting capacity building and strengthening of the government mechanisms so that government can act as the primary recipient holding the rights to transparently disburse the aid coming through global fund or any others in the future.