Africa-Press – Eswatini. Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, has observed the impressive progress and achievements that the country has made in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Speaking through Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, the PM said more work needed to be done, especially with regards to the recent infections among the youth.
He was speaking during the commemoration of World AIDS Day at Gege Inkhundla yesterday.
The premier also applauded the use of technology to broadcast the event, as stakeholders from both the national and international communities watched.
He said the 2022 World AIDS Day theme; ‘Equalise: Eswatini ending AIDS for all’, resonated with the country’s multisectoral HIV and AIDS response.
Different partners, including the United Nations, US Embassy, Eswatini Young Positives and more shared messages of support on the day.
Dlamini stated that this was because inequalities remained prevalent in the HIV and AIDS response, as the country strove to reach hard to reach all communities, provide services to those who needed it without any form of discrimination and closing the gender gap in accessing HIV services.
“The 2021 Eswatini Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey results (SHIMS 3), demonstrates sustained progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets set for 2025. SHIMS 3 reveals that in Eswatini, 94 per cent of adults aged 15 and older living with HIV are aware of their status, 97 per cent of those aware of their status are on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 96 per cent of those on ART have achieved viral suppression.
“The 2022 commemoration presents an opportunity to remind ourselves that while considerable and yet impressive progress has been made towards ending AIDS as a public health threat, the HIV epidemic is not yet over and young people, especially, remain disproportionately at risk of new HIV infections,” he said.
Adding, the PM noted that in 2015, His Majesty King Mswati III challenged the response to end AIDS in 2022, much against the global target of reaching the milestone in 2030.
He said the country was beaming with exuberance for its concerted efforts that the multisectoral HIV and AIDS response had made in achieving the global target of ending AIDSin 2020, two years ahead of 2022.
He noted that this was despite the unanticipated emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the challenges that emerged, the premier said the response remained resilient in sustaining the gains already made.
However, Dlamini said there were glaring disparities on the 95 per cent treatment cascade.
Further, the PM stated that the results of SHIMS 3 show tremendous progress toward the HIV epidemic control in Eswatini, and demonstrated the impact of the national HIV response through the government’s outstanding commitment to collaboration with partners, including the US Government through PEPFAR, Global Fund, UN partners and civil society.
He revealed that the results uncovered gaps in health service coverage for sub-population groups, including men. “Undoubtedly, men are not adequately accessing and utilising HIV services, which misses an opportunity to work with them and transform gender norms that contribute to new HIV infections among women and men.
The daunting task for us as Eswatini is to maintain and sustain epidemic control and turn the tide against AIDS forever. “The king dreamt of an AIDS-free Eswatini by 2022. All of you Emaswati with the support of partners have ensured that this vision is achieved, even though the gains remain fragile, Eswatini has made it. Let us continue the unparallel collaboration and team work to sustain and cement our gains,” Dlamini said.
In addition, the prime minister noted that the HIV response had kept the promise of reaching more marginalised populations, as 2021’s commemoration was inclusive of persons with disabilities. He said he was encouraged to note the participation of different groups in this year’s event.
He urged all stakeholders to work on integrating the specific needs of marginalised sub-population groups to the national HIV and AIDS response through the designing of programmes and messages suitable for their use.
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