COVID-19: Learning from the HIV/AIDS pandemic response in Africa.

About 74.9 million persons were infected during the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome HIV/AIDS global pandemic with nearly half of them succumbing to the disease. In 2018 alone, Africa recorded over 400,000 AIDS-related deaths which is more than half of the global total. This reflects years of inequality in the global pandemic response. Also, the international response to AIDS in the early years was very slow, with a global programme only developed 6 years into the pandemic. Many African countries still lack pandemic preparedness plans to handle a global pandemic. Thus, this paper highlights the important lessons that can be learnt from the response to the AIDS pandemic and recommends how they can be applied during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Some of the important lessons include: HIV reversed the previous success recorded in health systems of developing countries; the antiretroviral drug development process was prolonged and required long term commitment; and primary healthcare was crucial in preventing and controlling the disease. These lessons can be utilised in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. It is recommended that: there should be solidarity among the nations of the world to fight COVID-19; health authorities should be proactive in curbing misinformation; and interventions should prioritise human rights and focus on vulnerable communities. HIV treatment services should not be discontinued as it is still an ongoing pandemic. A balance needs to be achieved in combating both pandemics as discontinuation of HIV treatment during the coronavirus pandemic could result in more than 500,000 deaths.

Global fund: Analyzing 10 Years of bridging health inequalities.

The Global Fund is a non-profit organization founded by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Kofi Annan, Amir Attaran, and Jeffrey Sachs on the 28th January, 2002. Each year, about US$ 4 billion is invested to support programs and organizations led by local experts in various communities towards developing strategies and ways in which these three (HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis) diseases could be fought. The Global Fund has supported various innovative strategies used in tackling these infectious diseases. It is also worthy of note that 38 million lives have been saved through the Global Funds Partnership resulting in a 50% decline in mortality rate caused by tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria in these reached countries. However, the Global Fund is not without its challenges as there has been lack of fund commitment from the G8 countries who instituted the idea in the first place. Another limitation being experienced is the poor risk management that has resulted in discrepancies of over US$4 million discovered in the Global Fund grants received by Nigeria as of 2016. This study discusses the current state of the Global Fund and suggests recommendations to policymakers that could be instrumental in strengthening health systems and achieving increased impact.