Cash-strapped TAC slashes staff
The year has started off on a tough note for the Treatment Action Campaign, which confirmed it has had to slash staff by 40 percent.
|||The year has started off on a tough note for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), which confirmed it has had to slash staff by 40 percent.
The HIV and Aids organisation’s staff said reduced funding has forced them to make cuts even as their fight against the spread of HIV, reliable and uninterrupted access to ARVs and adequate health care for the most vulnerable in South Africa continue to be a priority.
“Going through a process like this is difficult and bad. But we have to keep our eye on the ball; our focus is to advocate for quality health care services for people and not necessarily to create jobs.
“We have to deal with the health care system that is failing our communities,” said Marcus Low, head of policy at TAC.
He said their work remains vital to communities, as the health care system in many of the country’s provinces is collapsing. With just over 3 million people on Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ARVs), Low said there are another 3 million who still need to be put on the life-saving drugs.
“There is still a shortage of drugs in our clinics and not enough staff. We are given feedback about the horror stories that happen in our hospitals by our branches on the ground, which is how we intervene.
“Provinces like Mpumalanga and the Free State have the worst health care systems,” said Low.
TAC’s financial woes date back to 2012, with global funders pulling the plug on funding of non-governmental organisations such as TAC.
In 2014, Section 27 head and TAC board member Mark Heywood said the organisation managed to raise just a third of its budget for 2015/2016.
But he warned that should the financial status not improve by the beginning of 2015 tough decisions would have to be made. Low said with the current financial climate it was getting harder to raise funds.
“South Africa has been reclassified as a middle-income country and some funders don’t give to middle-income countries. There are financial problems across the world so it is getting difficult,” said Low.
He further said their budget had decreased from around R36m a year to R20m.
Although staff levels are down, there are still over 230 branches across the country and it has 8 000 members. He added that it was high time South African corporates and foundations started investing more in organisations like TAC, which are fighting for the “health of our democracy”.
Katherine Cebekhulu, from one of TAC’s branches in Gauteng, is among those retrenched, but she continues to volunteer.
“This is what I love doing, seeing where the gaps are and helping the community. I am not getting anything for this right now, but am fine with it.
“The community relies on us, specially when they see you are committed. We can’t fail them.”
Saturday Star