Dimapur, June 6 (MExN): In response to the statement of Minister of Health and Family Welfare published on June 6 last, the apex body of the NGOs working in the field of Drug and HIV/AIDS, Network of Nagaland Drugs & HIV/AIDS Organisation (N Naga-DAO) has demanded the Minister and the NSACS to cross verify the statement and clarify on the statement and “set the record straight”.
“Our honorable Minister stated that the State Govt. do not have any mechanism to check fund utilization by various NGOs working in the field of HIV & AIDs. It’s unfortunate that the Honorable Minister of Health and Family Welfare who is also the Convenor of State Legislators Forum on HIV and AIDs is unaware of the same,” The N Naga-DAO lamented in a rejoinder.
It stated that the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS), which was instituted by the state Government, is the nodal agency in the state with regard to any programmes and projects relating to HIV & AIDs in the state.
Any programmes relating to HIV & AIDS in the state are implemented with their knowledge, with the Commissioner & Secretary, Health and Family Welfare as the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
Pointing out the Minister’s statement, it said: “He also stated that the govt is not aware whether the funds are utilized properly. The N Naga DAO would like to set the record straight that the NGOs implementing projects both on prevention and Care and Treatment as partners of NSACS.
“The implementing partner NGOs submits their statement of expenditure, activity report through CMIS every month to Nagaland SACS, moreover every quarterly external audit, quarterly review of the activities, and monitoring and evaluation of the projects takes place.”
In relation to it, the NNaga DAO said in the note that it would also like to make it clear that, for any new projects the NSACS constitutes a Joint Appraisal Team (JAT) as per the National AIDs Control organization (NACO) guidelines, to visit and verify those NGOs who apply and proposes to take up projects under NSACS.
The JAT team then submits their report to the Technical Support Unit under NSACS who then scrutinizes it and sends it to the Executive Committee where the final decision is taken.
“So the question of state Govt not having hand in selection of NGOs is incorrect,” it added.
Furthermore, it stated in the press note that the Minister has acknowledged the decrease in the prevalence rate of HIV in the state, and the NGO Network also strongly feels that they have contributed towards the stabilization in the HIV prevalence rate in the state.
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