Aids funds are drying up

Namibia cannot afford to be caught with its pants down and must urgently find ways to mobilise domestic resources to combat HIV amid plans by the United States government to cut HIV funding for African countries.

This is the view of local public health expert Sandy Tjaronda, who commended the Namibian government for having taken ownership of its HIV burden, spending 13% of its public funds to acquire antiretroviral treatment and on other HIV programmes.





But he warned the government not to rest on its laurels and to pull up its socks in addressing key areas where high infection rates are a concern.

“We need to do more; we can only relax if our national prevalence rate is at a single digit. But we are seeing a troubling increase among our youth and our youth are critical… we cannot afford to lose them,” he said.

Namibia's prevalence rate now stands at 17% and according to the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief's (Pepfar's) statistics, 13.3% of the 15-49-year-old population is living with HIV.

According to those same figures, HIV/Aids will be responsible for 3 369 deaths in 2017 as the disease remains the leading cause of death among adults, and sixth among children under five years.

Deputy health permanent secretary Petronella Masabane yesterday said there was no indication yet that Namibia would be affected by the cuts proposed by the Trump administration.

International media this week reported that President Donald Trump's plan to cut foreign aid supporting HIV/Aids treatment could cost nine million lives in South Africa and Ivory Coast.



Strides

The Global Aids Update 2017 report states that Namibia has made great strides in the fight against HIV and Aids, which has seen new adult infections declining at an estimated 8% between 2010 and 2015, and 11% between 2010 and last year.

The report, published by UNAIDS, states that paediatric treatment has improved impressively, with regional coverage approaching 51% in 2016, up from 19% in 2010.

The report adds that several challenges must be addressed to close remaining gaps in southern Africa as current programmes miss many mothers who acquire HIV while they are pregnant or during the post-partum and breastfeeding periods.

Problems also include the fact that some pregnant mothers who know they are living with HIV are reluctant to take antiretroviral medicines, while others simply stop treatment after giving birth.

“Routine and repeated provider-initiated voluntary screening for HIV should be part of the basic package of services for pre-pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal care in all countries with generalised HIV epidemics, and globally for women belonging to key populations.

“Partner testing can identify women in serodiscordant (one partner is positive and the other is HIV-free) relationships who are at high risk of acquiring HIV. Finally, in order to maximise the benefits of lifelong antiretroviral therapy, women require more effective counselling and preparation before they start antiretroviral therapy; they also need supportive services at the family, community and facility levels to enhance their retention in care.

“Children born to mothers living with HIV require early infant diagnosis and, if found to be living with HIV, rapid initiation of paediatric treatment,” the report states.

JEMIMA BEUKES