Effective Applications of Health Insurance Scheme will Provide Fund For HIV-AIDS and Health Funding

African Leaders have been challenged to adopt and expand health insurance scheme to provide adequate funding for health and HIV in the continent.

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of Aids NACA, Professor John Idoko stated this in Addis Ababa Ethiopia where he joined other speakers at a special plenary session which focused on ‘Keeping the Promise in the Aids response’.

Radio Nigeria Correspondent reports that the session provides stakeholders to share evidence and articulate efforts on promises made towards the epidemic’s response, challenges and way forward to ultimately fulfill these promises.t

Addressing a plenary session, Professor Idoko who described the engagement of health insurance scheme as a game changer said it was lamentable that in Africa only four percent of total health expenditure is sourced from Health Insurance.

The Director General of NACA who also presided over a satellite session on Defining the African HIV vaccine Agenda said Africa leaders must rise up to meet up with the theme of the conference which is to own, scale up and sustain through finding creative means of funding the management of HIV- AIDS especially investment on research into HIV vaccine.

In a presentation, the Director of the London school of tropical medicine and Hygiene, Dr Peter Piot said in view of the fact that Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV-AIDS; solution to African problem can only come within Africa, saying that that reduction in global funding was a crisis for Africa.

Dr Piot who expressed delight that funding in Africa has gradually increased spelt out the way forward.

The conference which dovetailed to several satellite sessions also see a call by the Executive Director of the African Aids Vaccine Partnership Dr Chidi  Nweneka on the need for African Leaders to exercise political will and sourced for funding that would facilitate the development of HIV vaccine

 In a remark, a delegate to the conference who is also the Chairman House Committee on HIV-Aids, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Leprosy in the Federal House of Representatives, Dr Kugbu Haruna said Nigeria legislative was poised at ensuring that necessary funding was sourced not only for prevention but for research and development of HIV vaccine through effective legislation

The conference also featured a number of side attractions including a group of volunteers who marched through the conference venue demanding action from African leaders on new funding strategy.

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