BY OWETHU DLAMINI
MBABANE – Creating an equal community for all!
The National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA), Eswatini has launched the World AIDS Day(WAD)/ World AIDS Campaign (WAC), 2022 themed ‘Equalise: Ending AIDS for All’.
Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi, UNAIDS Country Director Rose Craig and NERCHA National Executive Director Khanya Mabuza, among others, were a part of this launch, touching on profound aspects in the fight towards ending AIDS in the country.
A brief background of WAC in the country, which was established in 1988 as World AIDS Day (WAD) then changed to World AIDS Campaign (WAC) in 1994, was explained by the Eswatini National AIDS Programme, Dr Bongani Masangu. It was learnt that this day is commemorated every year on December 1 and works as an opportunity to raise awareness on issues around the HIV epidemic in the different communities around the world.
The year 2022’s WAC theme is centred on equalising and encouraging emaSwati to work for the proven practical actions needed to address inequalities and help end AIDS.
The UNAIDS Country Director, Rose Craig raised important factors stating that the theme behind this year’s World AIDS Day stems from issues that can be addressed and tackled.
“The World AIDS Day theme has been propelled by the realisation that the inequalities that are perpetuating the AIDS pandemic are things that we can actually address, they are things that we can tackle and they are things that are not inevitable. That is my main message today. The issues that we are trying to talk about are not mountains that we cannot tackle, these are issues we can tackle.
“Our message today as UNAIDS is that we are asking Eswatini to tackle all the inequalities that are holding us back from ending AIDS as a public health rate in this country,” said Craig.
The NERCHA National Executive Director, Khanya Mabuza, emphasised that the HIV journey was started on crisis mode in the country, but through hard work and commitment from all stakeholders in the country, the situation has been improving.
Mabuza then expressed gratitude towards all those who have played a part in bettering the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country.
“The country of Eswatini was on the map as the country with the worst HIV rates. The commitment of the Eswatini nation collectively has brought us where we are today.
“Our starting point was to appreciate that we have a problem,” said Mabuza.
The Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, highlighted the work that had been done in mitigating the HIV pandemic, the challenges that were faced as well as the achievements.
Nkosi explained, as she shared the data from the reports that had been gathered to support the work that had been done by the Ministry of Health to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic, that the results from the report highlighted sustained progress that the country has made towards HIV testing and treatment over the past five years despite COVID-19 disruptions.
These results also highlighted the 95-95-95 targets which look at diagnosing 95% of all HIV positive individuals, providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 95% of those diagnosed and achieving viral suppression for 95% of those treated.
“The study shows that the three 95s are achievable in a high prevalence country like ourselves. The improvement in all the 95s from 2016 to 2021 shows how well we have done as a country and how well we have managed HIV.
“This for me is a sobering moment that shows where we should go next,” said Nkosi.
The minister urged people to keep up the fight towards ending HIV/AIDS encouraging them to not only pay attention to who is being left behind but why as well.
She also expressed appreciation to all people in different sectors as everyone has played a very vital role in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The minister finally lit a candle as she officiated the launch of the World AIDS Day.
