As the World celebrates World Aids Day, the government has been urged to internally mobilise funds to fight HIV/AIDS in the wake of diminishing support of the international donors.
Erick Okioma, coordinator of Victory Post Test Club, a network that brings together HIV positive people in Nyanza region said for many years, donor funding dominated HIV/AIDS programmes.
Okioma said the international community assistance is drying up and the government may be forced to play a much more significant role to help narrow the funding gap.
“Before donors pulled out completely our government must ensure that it can mobilise funds locally to keep the fight on,” said Okioma.
He said the government must put in place mechanisms to intensify efforts to mobilize additional resources to combat HIV/AIDS in the country.
Speaking to journalists in Kisumu, Okioma said the government must work on a strategy to soldier on incase donors eventually pulled out completely.
He said Nyanza region is hardly hit with the epidemic and without services as a result of lack of funds will fuel more infections and increase the death rate.
“Without funds to buy condoms and other prevention measures, our people will continue contracting the virus and more will die, there will be more orphans and the government must allocate funds to combat this scourge,” he said.
Okioma said more resources need to be allocated to roll out prevention of HIV/AIDS programmes across the country to save the country from the burden of treatment of infected persons.