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"As a government, we want to commit to bringing a renewed response to this epidemic by prioritizing primary prevention and ensuring that all people in need of treatment are treated," said Mabuza at the launch of the UNAIDS 2019 World Report in Eshowe. Province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Eshowe was chosen by UNAIDS to welcome the official launch of this report because of its outstanding and outstanding efforts in the fight against HIV / AIDS.
"This community has shown us what we can do if we work smart and together," said Mabuza, president of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC).
With the help of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Eshowe has achieved the targets set for 90-94-95: 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 94% of them they are taking antiretroviral therapy and 95% of them have a suppressed viral load. .
This achievement was ahead of the 90-90-90 global targets set by the UN for 2020. According to the UNAIDS report, 770,000 people died of HIV / AIDS worldwide in 2018, a reduction of only 30,000 compared to 2017, compared to 800,000 in 2017 and 840,000 in 2016.
The report noted that the international community is still far from reaching the goal of reducing by 50% the number of deaths from HIV / AIDS by 2020, to less than 500,000 per year .
This goal was approved by the UN Member States in 2016.
The report warmly congratulates South Africa for successfully reducing new HIV infections by more than 40% and AIDS-related deaths by about 40% since 2010.
South Africa, with the highest prevalence of HIV / AIDS in the world, plans to test and treat at least 6.2 million people living with HIV by 2020.
The country currently puts more than 4.2 million people on antiretroviral therapy. According to Mabuza, stigma and discrimination have proven to be the most powerful factors for fueling the spread of the epidemic and causing premature deaths for those infected in his country.
With its human rights plan launched by the government last June, South Africa aims to eradicate the stigma and discrimination badociated with HIV and TB and to expose the stigma that surrounds it. 39 have fueled, said Mabuza.
The plan includes a clear roadmap on how to address the human rights violations of people infected and affected by HIV and TB, as well as vulnerable and marginalized populations, said Mabuza. Mabuza also badociates HIV with social injustice, affirming the challenges of unemployment, poverty, gender-based violence, drug abuse and poor housing, among other things, we will not be able to cure our society. "
This badertion is based on the fact that the health of any individual depends on economic, social and environmental factors, he said.
The poor in South Africa are the most affected and most vulnerable to this burden of HIV / AIDS and tuberculosis, said Mabuza.
"In South Africa, this phenomenon involves the entire socio-economic fabric of our society and poses a threat to future generations," said Mabuza.
He said the South African government is working to build an AIDS-free society and place the social and structural factors of HIV at the center of its response.
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