BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – The United States of America (USA) Embassy has warmly welcomed the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Ambassador Dr John Nkengasong to Eswatini.
Ambassador Nkengasong landed at the King Mswati III International Airport yesterday afternoon where he was met by the Deputy Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health Rejoice Nkambule, and Chargé d’Affaires Caitlin Piper.
Ambassador Nkengasong is here to learn about and support the strong partnership between the U.S Government and the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini on HIV and health.
Worth noting is this partnership has seen more than US E800 million invested in the health of emaSwati and saved tens of thousands of lives.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi once revealed the results of their good work together. The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and PEPFAR announced the results of the 2021 Eswatini assessment.
“Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey, locally known as “SHIMS3”, which demonstrates sustained progress towards the ambitious UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets set for 2025. SHIMS3 reveals that in Eswatini, 94 per cent of adults 15 years 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,” said the Minister.
She further said this was 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.
