The Mozambican government called on international partners Wednesday in the health care field to continue support to the country in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The call was announced on Wednesday during the biannual coordinating meeting between the Mozambican Health Ministry and its partners, which reviewed the plans and budget for 2006, and confirmed donor pledges.

Although the donors expressed willingness to step up their support for the fight against HIV/AIDS, yet they stressed the need for the Ministry to assess progress made so far, particularly in order to ensure efficient methods of distributing the anti- retroviral drugs that prolong the lives of AIDS sufferers.

Data available at Wednesday's meeting indicate there are now 133 voluntary testing and counseling centers in Mozambique, 33 of which were set up in 2004. According to figures released in January by former Mozambican Health Minister Francisco Songane, there were then 6,226 people receiving anti-retroviral therapy through the national health service, and the Ministry wants to push the figure up to 20,000 by the end of 2005.

There was consensus at the meeting that the health sector performed positively in 2004, with a 2.1 percent increase in the total volume of activities.

But the Health Ministry staff were worried that expenditure on health, as a percentage of the state budget, is declining - from 14 percent in 2002 to 11 percent in 2004. The problem with donor funds, they added, is that they tend to be disbursed later than the time agreed.

Mozambican Health Minister Ivo Garrido clearly hopes the donor to restart their continued willingness to work with his ministry, in order to develop the national health system and improve the provision of services to the public.

Source: Xinhua