MPs urged to speed up Aids agency Bill

Parliament has been asked to give the National Aids Commission Bill priority to help fight the disease.
At the same time the National Aids Control Council (NACC), established in 1999, has been faulted for having failed to combat the spread of HIV/Aids.
“The NACC was formed without giving it power to implement its mandate rendering it toothless in enforcing accountability under the monitoring and evaluation framework,” said National Council of NGOs chairman Ken Wafula.
He asked MPs to hasten the passing of the Bill, noting that HIV/Aids remained a national calamity.
Specific legislation
“There is a need to have accurate data on programmes in terms of coverage and funding since the current legal structure has no provision for devolved system of government that will operate at the county level,” he said.
The NGOs council chairman asked the government to borrow a leaf from countries such as Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda that had specific legislation addressing the management and control of HIV/Aids.
“The NACC should be transformed into a commission so that multi-sectoral nature of HIV/Aids programming is maintained given that the number of ministries under the new Constitution is to be reduced to a maximum of 22 and the council could fall under a ministry which could make its mandate difficult to implement,” Mr Wafula noted.

He appealed to Parliament to pass the National Aids Commission Bill 2012 before the next General Election to make it effective.