BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The United States of America (USA) President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong has highlighted Eswatini’s tremendous progress toward ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030.
He was speaking earlier today at the opening of the annual PEPFAR joint planning meeting; the Ambassador mentioned that one of the strategies Eswatini used was, increasing the number of people who know their HIV status by diagnosing HIV infection as early as possible, promoting routine testing within health care facilities and scaling up testing options in nonclinical settings.
Ambassador Nkengasong, Chargé d’affaires Earl Miller and Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi, also discussed building on Eswatini’s successes toward a sustainable response and utilising the strengthened health systems to address other public health threats.
In addition, he said another strategy employed by Eswatini was to prevent new HIV infections by increasing access to effective prevention interventions, including PrEP, emergency post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), condoms, harm reduction and supportive services.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi said HIV/AIDS continues to be a major public health concern in the African Region with almost 26 million people living with HIV and accounting for 70 percent of all AIDS-related deaths in the world.
Nkosi said while there has been a decline in the number of new HIV infections, the prevalence in the Region remains unacceptably high, estimated at 4.8 percent in 2014 but much higher in Eastern and Southern Africa.
“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 maximised 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,” she said.
In addition to that Nkosi revealed that to confront one of the most severe HIV epidemics in the world, Eswatini used data-driven approaches to increase the number of persons tested for HIV, adopted ‘test and treat’ for rapid initiation of ART for persons testing HIV-positive, and enhanced national capacity for viral load testing to monitor the response to ART. “To secure further gains, Eswatini implemented six-month dispensation of ART and decentralized distribution of medication and health services at community access points beyond health facilities. The combined effect of these strategies minimized treatment interruptions and supported strong outcomes, including viral suppression,” she said.
