highly unexpected news ?

On March 31, AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) and its partners in the International HIV/AIDS Consortium The Netherlands* received the highly unexpected news that the Dutch government will no longer fund their international HIV/AIDS projects under their MFS (co-financing system). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands had rejected the consortium’s application for a major grant that would have provided finance for their HIV/AIDS activities in 2011-2015.

This decision comes as a severe blow to Dutch civil society, which has long been a driving force for evidence-based approaches to HIV/AIDS across the world. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), AFEW has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for nine years. Our successful projects with local partner organisations have exemplified how our projects achieve demonstrable, stable results. We are concerned that the withdrawal of Dutch governmental support will seriously undermine our long struggle to introduce evidence-based HIV prevention methods and to support the fledgling civil society in EECA in implementing a rights-based approach to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. 

The Dutch government’s decision is particularly baffling since a declared aim of MFSII was to strengthen collaboration between leading humanitarian organisations. In response, over the past year, AFEW and its 10 consortium partners have devoted huge efforts to integrating their programme planning and to creating an ambitious, global HIV/AIDS programme. 

Over the coming weeks, the Consortium will seek consultation with members of Parliament and other officials to find a way forward. 

Read the consortium’s press release from April 1. 

*Consortium members: Aids Fonds, Aids Foundation East-West (AFEW), COC, dance4life International, the Global Network of People Living with HIV, Health Connections International (HCI), International Civil Society Support, Mainline, Schorer, STOP AIDS NOW! and the World Aids Campaign (WAC).