Private sector must join HIV/Aids fight
The Kavango West regional governor, Sirkka Ausiku, has appealed to the private sector, especially those involved in healthcare, to help eliminate HIV/Aids.
Ausiku made the call during the handover of a prefabricated antiretroviral treatment clinic at Nkurenkuru on Tuesday.
The governor acknowledged the contributions made by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the fight against HIV/Aids for the past three decades.
“We are now moving towards the elimination of this dreadful disease and I therefore express my profound gratitude and appeal to other institutions and the private sector to come on board and journey towards the elimination of HIV,” Ausiku said.
She added that since the launch of the test-and-treat strategy by the Ministry of Health and Social Services in 2014, the programme has witnessed a significant turnaround in the region, as many people now have access to HIV care immediately after being diagnosed.
She expressed hope that with continued support from the CDC, the ministry would achieve its 90:90:90 goals.
The 90:90:90 goal is the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) treatment target to help end the Aids epidemic by the year 2020.
Also speaking at the handover, health minister Bernard Haufiku called on businesses and community members to do their best to assist the government in the delivery of quality health infrastructure.
According to 2016 UNAIDS statistics, between 200 059 to 236 933people in Namibia live with HIV/Aids.
A PEPFAR report released in June this year indicated that the national HIV/Aids prevalence rate stood at 13.3%, and in Kavango West between 7.3% and 23.7%.
The US government, through PEPFAR and the CDC, provided N$1.7 million to set up three containers and shaded waiting areas at the Nkurenkuru Health Centre and N$1.3 million for partitioning the Nankudu District Hospital situated 18km east of Nkurenkuru.
NAMPA
Ausiku made the call during the handover of a prefabricated antiretroviral treatment clinic at Nkurenkuru on Tuesday.
The governor acknowledged the contributions made by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the fight against HIV/Aids for the past three decades.
“We are now moving towards the elimination of this dreadful disease and I therefore express my profound gratitude and appeal to other institutions and the private sector to come on board and journey towards the elimination of HIV,” Ausiku said.
She added that since the launch of the test-and-treat strategy by the Ministry of Health and Social Services in 2014, the programme has witnessed a significant turnaround in the region, as many people now have access to HIV care immediately after being diagnosed.
She expressed hope that with continued support from the CDC, the ministry would achieve its 90:90:90 goals.
The 90:90:90 goal is the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) treatment target to help end the Aids epidemic by the year 2020.
Also speaking at the handover, health minister Bernard Haufiku called on businesses and community members to do their best to assist the government in the delivery of quality health infrastructure.
According to 2016 UNAIDS statistics, between 200 059 to 236 933people in Namibia live with HIV/Aids.
A PEPFAR report released in June this year indicated that the national HIV/Aids prevalence rate stood at 13.3%, and in Kavango West between 7.3% and 23.7%.
The US government, through PEPFAR and the CDC, provided N$1.7 million to set up three containers and shaded waiting areas at the Nkurenkuru Health Centre and N$1.3 million for partitioning the Nankudu District Hospital situated 18km east of Nkurenkuru.
NAMPA
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