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WINDHOEK – The United States Government has committed nearly N $ 1.2 billion (US $ 82 million) this year under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) in Namibia.
The recent announcement of this commitment, which began last October, was made by US Ambbadador to Namibia Lisa Johnson, who affirmed her government's commitment to HIV programs in Namibia. Namibia.
Since the start of Pepfar in Namibia, the US government has invested nearly US $ 1.2 billion ($ 17.8 billion) in HIV programming in Namibia. Pepfar was promulgated on May 27, 2003 and began work in Namibia in 2005.
"Our commitment remains steadfast. The US government and the Namibian government have established a strong partnership on HIV, and that is what made this program so successful, "Johnson said recently. She also said, "Pepfar will continue to use the latest scientific data and data to guide resources where the burden of the HIV epidemic is greatest, the most important needs and the most important. use of money in the most efficient way. The fight against HIV is for all of us. We must continue to work together to ensure the health of the Namibian people. "
Johnson also talked about the results in the area of HIV.
"To highlight the achievements of 2018, as you may recall, Namphia data (HIV impact badessment in Namibia) showed that 86% of HIV-positive people aged 15 to 64 were aware of their HIV status. HIV status, knew that their HIV status was under treatment and that 91 percent of these were virally removed, "she said.
Namibia has continued its success, she said proudly.
"At the beginning of 2019, an estimated 94% of HIV-positive adults know their HIV status, 96% of those who know their HIV status are on treatment and 95% of those on treatment are deleted. These results bear witness to all the work done by Namibia to fight epidemics, "commented Johnson.
Epidemic control limits the annual number of new HIV infections in a country to fewer than the number of deaths among people living with HIV.
"If a person is HIV-positive and takes his medication every day, the virus in his body will be removed and undetectable. This means that they can not transmit HIV to others. And that's the key to controlling the epidemic, "she said.
Carey Spear, Pepfar's national coordinator, also spoke of the US government's commitment, citing crucial data that would help Namibia cope with the burden of HIV.
Spear pointed out that 12.6% of the adult population is living with HIV and that 35.5% of people living with HIV have TB. As of September 2019, an estimated 204,000 people living with HIV will be receiving antiretroviral therapy. "Nearly 4,000 Namibians will die of HIV in 2019," she said, adding that HIV remains the leading cause of death in the country.
Spear also explained that people living with HIV who take their antiretroviral drugs daily, reach and maintain an undetectable viral load can not badually transmit HIV to their partners. It's part of stopping HIV transmission, she added. "By stopping HIV transmission, the annual number of new HIV infections will be limited. It's the control of the epidemic, "added Spear.
Alvine Kapitako
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