MWANZA Region has received 10bn/- for intensification of massive HIV/AIDS interventions with researches further showing increase in the disease in the area.
That was revealed during a quarter review meeting workshop where different health experts from Mwanza, Simiyu, Shinyanga and Mara Regions, attended to evaluate the ongoing interventions as well as performances and challenges facing their campaign.
According to Dr Ben Simon, who is the Mwanza Regional Ariel Graser Paediatric Aids Healthcare Initiative (AGPAHI) Programme Coordinator, that is implementing the Boresha project, the region should be assisted to overcome the disease burden.
The financial boost was part of the joint efforts of some local stakeholders in collaboration with the government to make sure that the current interventions address spread of the disease in the region.
Through the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), the funded Boresha project implemented in Mwanza, Simiyu, Shinyanga and Mara Regions, this time seeks to obtain technical reasons on why the disease was on the increase in the region being recorded at 7.2 per cent.
“Through this project, we are closely monitoring the trend in Mwanza, where recent studies have indicated some gaps for its spread and have public education to around 183,000 people, aged between 15 to 49 living with HIV without even bothering to go for screening,” he said.
However, reports submitted by different experts from their specific areas showed some slight decreases as a result of reliable and efficient management of the HIV campaigns in their midst.
During the occasion, Dr Simon said that AGPAHI has created some employment opportunities to some 290 local staff to reinforce their operations in eight District Councils in Mwanza for better outcomes.
“We have managed to address the issue by employing new staff, who include eight Assistant Data Management Officers to make sure reliable statistics are produced and reported in the implementation trends of the project,” he said.
CDC funded Boresha project last year, released about 12bn/- for the same mission basically to support in human resources, supervisions, mentorships, training and other community related activities.
Winding up the meeting, the Mwanza Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS) Engineer Christopher Kadio challenged all the stakeholders working in his office to make sure that the region remains HIV/AIDS free.
“But in doing so, data experts giving statistics should be truthful and release true and authentic information in a bid to effectively contain the disease,” he pointed out.
In another related development, he said he would take to task any government official not actively taking part in the fight, when asked to do so, adding that “anyone would be answerable and accountable if found negligent while in course of duty.
“We must cultivate a culture of carrying out regular evaluations on what we plan to do and more importantly we should manage our human resources,” said the RAS.
The CDC team was led by its Mwanza Region based Team Leader, Dr Oscar Rwabiyago, who however, reported a number of progresses in their past 12 weeks of survey in all the districts, except Ukerewe area which they will visit next time.
