BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The United States of America (USA), President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Eswatini Team and Eswatini Government has bagged two awards.
The PEPFAR Awards are in recognition of the country’s achievement of the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets and the Dr. Deborah Birx Award in recognition of the Country’s advancement of HIV Prevention Impact.
This was at the recent PEPFAR COP 23 Planning Meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
All stakeholders involved expressed happiness, Government Spokesperson Alpheus Nxumalo said they were happy with the recognition as it goes to show how hard the country is working.
“This is good news we are very happy about these kinds of achievements and congratulations to the PEPFAR team for hoisting our name and flag,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) announced the results of the 2021 Eswatini Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey, locally known as ‘SHIMS3’, which demonstrate sustained progress towards the ambitious UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets set for 2025.
SHIMS3 reveals that in Eswatini, 94 percent of adults 15 years and older living with HIV are aware of their status, 97 percent of those aware of their status are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 96 percent of those on ART have achieved viral suppression.
This is compared to the SHIMS2 (2016-2017) results of 87-89-91, reflecting laudable progress despite the threats presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Women achieved the 95-95-95 targets at 95–98–96 in SHIMS3, while men reached 92-96-97. Such achievements indicate that epidemic control for all is within reach.
Overall, the results of SHIMS3 show tremendous progress toward HIV epidemic control in Eswatini and demonstrate the impact of the national HIV response through the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini’s outstanding commitment to collaboration with partners, including the U.S. government through PEPFAR.
Previously, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi has been quoted saying, people in the country should continue accessing HIV services to protect their loved ones.
“As a country, we remain committed in our leadership and prioritisation of HIV prevention and treatment services. Our health sector staff and our people living with HIV have maximized the opportunities offered through our HIV programs. “All emaSwati are encouraged to continue accessing HIV testing services and antiretroviral therapy to maintain their health and protect their loved ones,” said Lizzie Nkosi the country’s Minister of Health.
