Zimbabwe to Distribute $23 Million to HIV-Positive Citizens from National AIDS Fund

The Zimbabwe government will distribute $23 million (1.3 billion Zim dollars) to people living with HIV/AIDS as soon as district AIDS committees submit satisfactory programs to the National AIDS Council, Minister of Health and Child Welfare Timothy Stamps told the Sunday Mail in an interview on Saturday. The Xinhua News Agency reports that the funds will come from the National AIDS Trust Fund, which garners money from a 3% levy on taxable income and corporate tax introduced last year. The distribution announcement comes after a series of protests nationwide in which HIV-positive activists accused the government of "sitting on the money while people were suffering." Stamps also announced that the $1 million pledged by Zimbabwe for the Global AIDS and Health Fund at the recent U.N. General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS will be withdrawn from the National AIDS Trust Fund (Xinhua News Agency, 7/15).