Africa-Press – Angola. The Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, said on Monday in Luanda that Angola has been making consistent efforts to broaden access to and expand antiretroviral drugs.
Speaking to the press at the end of a visit to the National Institute for the Fight against HIV/AIDS, the Vice-President said that the country remains committed to treatment, early diagnosis of children living with HIV/AIDS and the provision of viral load testing.
She acknowledged that there are difficulties in accessing services, particularly the high number of children who are still not receiving treatment for various reasons.
According to the Vice-President of the Republic, treatment coverage for adults stands at around 51 per cent, a percentage she considers to be in need of improvement.
‘There are still difficulties linked to social determinants, which prevent many people with HIV/AIDS from going to health centres to collect the necessary treatment,’ she said.
Esperança da Costa also lamented the occurrence of cases of stigma and segregation in communities and, therefore, defended the need for a joint effort to overcome this reality.
She pointed out the importance of raising awareness in society about non-discrimination and reiterated the Executive’s commitment to eliminating social barriers, harmful cultural practices and economic constraints that hinder progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Vice-President of the Republic also reaffirmed her intention to mobilise additional domestic funding to meet the needs of the fight against AIDS.
‘There is a need to seek other domestic sources to improve funding and ensure greater availability of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention,’ she stressed.
On the other hand, Esperança da Costa called on society, particularly young people, as they are an age group increasingly affected by the infection, to adopt responsible behaviours that contribute to curbing the spread of the epidemic in communities and families.
She also stressed that the involvement of society is crucial, as this is a disease that requires individual and collective responsibility, with attention to living conditions, risks, threats and behavioural vulnerability.
The Executive, She added, will maintain its commitment to a multisectoral approach to HIV/AIDS, involving the Ministries of Health and Education in the field of sexual and reproductive education, as well as the Ministry of Finance, with a view to making more resources available in order to achieve better results in combating this epidemic.
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