Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

In Nigeria and South Africa, donor assistance plays a critical role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This is ascribed to the fact that government as a primary response vehicle is limited when it comes to fighting this global health disparity. In a recent report by the 9th International Aids Society, it was revealed that there has been a global funding decrease in the battle against HIV/AIDS by more than $1 billion with declines in 13 out of the 14 governments surveyed. (Kates, 2016). Thus, a coordinated effort between increased international funding and civil society organizations needs to be preserved and heightened vis-a-vis HIV care and prevention for vulnerable and marginalized populations. Recently, donors have adjusted their philanthropic/investment methodologies so as to encourage more commitment and investment from local governments. In the case of a hypothetical outbreak like the Ebola virus, several sub-Saharan African countries still lack the ability to survey its citizenry or the ability to develop a robust health information management system. Therefore, African nations should not be faced with a funding quandary while in the process of aggregately developing their public health systems. In Nigeria, the President of the Association of Fetomaternal Medicine Specialists of Nigeria highlighted the fact that the country is still one of the 26 countries yet to record a reduction in maternal mortality as stated by the Millennium Development Goals. (Gbenga- Mustapha, 2017). In the case of South Africa, it is forecasted that â�?�?cutbacks could result in more than 500,000 additional cases of HIV and more than 1.6 million more deaths over the next 10 years.â�? In light of the reduction in international foreign aid assistance for the HIV/AIDS epidemic and recent speculations of U.S. cuts, it is important to remember that lives and the future of a whole continent are at stake. Scaling back on HIV/AIDS efforts endangers the state of public health in Africa. Rather, there ought to be a call to action from a multidimensional perspective so that these countries at hand would be endowed with the Ability to address other pressing health needs.

Biography

Tegan Joseph Mosugu is a first year Ph.D. student at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He has worked with domestic and international health organizations such as EngenderHealth, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Center for the Right to Health etc. He is primarily interested in evaluating/examining capacity building efforts of public and private organizations in sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to providing health services to marginalized groups. Likewise, he also focuses on the ways in which health care access can be strengthened from a gender equity perspective on both the policy and grassroots level.