Ethiopia's Application for the GFFATM Accepted: Ministry

Addis Ababa, January 28(ENA)--Ethiopia's application for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has been accepted, an official of the ministry of health says.

TB and Leprosy prevention and control team senior expert with the ministry, Dr. Omar Ahmed Omar told ENA that the acceptance of the application would enable Ethiopia to secure a 27 million US Dollars from the Global Fund.

Some 1.5 million US Dollars of the five-year fund was expected to be released soon, he said.

A pilot project would be launched in seven health institutions with a view to implementing the integrated approach of fighting the three lethal diseases, Dr. Omar said, adding the result of the pilot project would serve as a spring board to implement the approach nationwide.

Information obtained from health institutions indicate that 50 per cent of HIV/AIDS patients are affected by Tuberculosis, Dr. Omar said, adding 25 to 45 per cent of TB patients were also found to be HIV positive.

He, however, said this figure came from hospital sources and does not show the actual state of HIV/AIDS in the country.

One of the reasons for the rise in the number of TB patients is the alliance of the disease with HIV/AIDS, he said.

The Global Fund is an independent, public-private partnership designed to attract, manage, and disburse new resources to fight the global crisis of AIDS, TB, and Malaria.

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