Why 2015 HIV Prevention Funds Will Be Slashed In Angola – AFKInsider

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Written by Manuel Soque and Colin McClelland  | From Bloomberg

Angola may spend less than half the money it did in 2013 to fight HIV next year as declining oil prices reduce revenue and donors scale back funding to Africa’s second-largest producer of the commodity.

The southwest African country is budgeting $11 million to battle HIV infections next year, compared with $16 million for 2014 and $22 million in 2013, Antonio Rodrigues Coelho Neto, president of Rede Angolana das Organizacoes de Servicos de Sida, said yesterday by phone. The Luanda-based aid agency helps patients suffering from AIDS.

The Angolan government’s ability to help stop the deadly disease “depends on how many resources we invest, especially in counseling campaigns, retro-viral treatment and health worker training,” Neto said. “Angola is doing the opposite, leading to the increase of new infections and deaths.”

A cut to funding risks the success the nation of 24 million has had against HIV, where the 2.4 percent infection rate is among the lowest in Africa, Neto said. Angola has cut education outlays and said it may further adjust spending after oil prices plunged more than 30 percent since June.

Read more at Bloomberg