NAIROBI, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to enhance domestic funding to eradicate HIV/Aids that affects an estimated 5.1 percent of the population, an official said Tuesday.
Regina Ombam, deputy director, HIV investments, National AIDS Control Council (NACC) told a health forum in Nairobi that currently foreign donors account for 70 percent of funding to combat the virus.
"We are looking at how we will manage our public finances so that we devote more domestic resources for HIV/Aids. Dependence on foreign aid to eradicate HIV/Aids is not sustainable in the long run," Ombam said during a conference on how Kenya can raise resources to deliver universal health coverage (UHC) to all its citizens by 2022.
Ombam said that HIV has a devastating impact on the socio-economic fabric of society because it affects the most productive members of society.
Ombam observed that the east African nation has increased the budgetary allocation on health from six percent a few years ago to approximately ten percent if spending by county governments on health is also included.
According to NACC, foreign donor funding on the fight against HIV has been on a downward trend. "Government must therefore take urgent measures to replace the funds of international financiers," she added.
Ombam said that the country is prioritizing prevention of new HIV infections so that Kenya achieves the goal of being Aids-free status.
The government official noted that one way to reduce the burden of HIV is to put all infected individuals on anti-retroviral drugs.