WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- The World Bank suspended disbursement of $60 million to Ukraine to fight tuberculosis and AIDS Wednesday.
The funds, originally earmarked for the country's Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Control Project, were suspended because of a lack of progress on implementing the program. After three years only 2 percent of the available $60 million have been disbursed, the World Bank said in a release.
Ukraine has one of the fastest growing rates of HIV/AIDS infection in Europe with more than 1 percent of the adult population already infected.
The stated goal of the project was to halt the spread of tuberculoses and HIV/AIDS using proven methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and focusing mainly on high-risk groups such as intravenous drug users, sex workers, and prisoners.
The high prevalence of both HIV/AIDS and TB in these groups raises the risk that the diseases will spread to the rest of society, as they have in Africa and the Caribbean, according to the World Bank.
The suspension does not mean the bank is ending its involvement in the region, and may decide to reauthorize the funds if the government agrees to restructure the project and disburse funds more rapidly.
