To control the HIV/AIDS pandemic indefinitely, the United States government is deeply committed to assisting in the elimination of inequalities that impede progress and result in service gaps, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was stated by Jessica Long, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Namibia, at the annual World AIDS Day commemoration held here under the theme ‘Equalise’, a UNAIDS call for everyone to address the inequalities impeding progress in ending AIDS.
Long said the US government has contributed over N.dollars 18 billion for HIV/AIDS in Namibia since 2005 through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
PEPFAR remains the largest single-country commitment ever made to combat a single disease.
She stated that the Namibia PEPFAR programme received US.dollars 94 million for the year 2022, which is equivalent to over N.dollars 1.5 billion, to fight HIV in the country.
“With this funding, we built on existing programmes while also introducing new and innovative approaches to prevention, care and treatment in the country, all while collaborating with the Namibian government,” she explained.
She also stated that the US government is committed to working with the Namibian government to remove barriers that prevent the provision and access to equitable, inclusive and accessible high-quality HIV services and endanger the human rights of individuals such as the LGBTQI+ community, sex workers, women and girls.
On his part, Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula said Namibians are committed to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and meeting the UNAIDS 95-95-95 fast-track targets through various interventions such as antiretroviral treatment optimisation with a dolutegravir-based regimen for adults and children living with HIV.
He said 98 per cent of Namibian children living with HIV are currently on a dolutegravir-based regimen, which is an effective treatment for suppressing their viral load.
“To prevent new infections, we are continuing to implement combination prevention strategies such as condom distribution, HIV testing, voluntary medical male circumcision, and pre-exposure prophylaxis,” he said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
