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President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- While South Africa has made progress in its fight against HIV / AIDS, the coronavirus pandemic has put pressure on the public health system, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- The president says South Africa is still far from reaching its goal of achieving a 75% reduction in HIV infections by 2020.
- He says that to end AIDS as a threat to public health in the next decade, the country needs to combine medical advances with fundamental changes in behavior.
South Africa has made significant progress in its fight against HIV / AIDS over the past decade, but the coronavirus pandemic has put pressure on the country’s health system. As a result, many HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) services have suffered, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday.
In his weekly newsletter ahead of World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said that many lessons that have been learned from South Africa’s public health response to the coronavirus pandemic can strengthen the fight against HIV and tuberculosis.
“South Africa still has the highest number of people living with HIV in the world. However, it is encouraging that over the last decade we have made progress in reducing the number of new HIV infections in the population by almost 60%.” , Ramaphosa said.
“It is also encouraging that HIV infections in adolescent girls and young women have declined significantly in the last decade. This is a crucial group because they are much more likely to be at risk for HIV. Our treatment program has contributed to a reduction in the number of AIDS deaths by 60%. There has been a greater reduction in HIV-related deaths among young people. “
READ | Cyril Rampahosa: We can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic to help strengthen the fight against HIV / AIDS
These successes can be attributed to an extensive antiretroviral program that “reaches millions of people living with the disease,” he said.
“At the beginning of the decade, our program to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV had very low coverage. We now have one of the highest rates of PMTCT coverage in southern Africa, which has substantially reduced infection rates. between children.
Far from reaching our goal
“While we have reduced deaths and new infections, we are still far from reaching the goal we committed to [to] in 2016 to achieve a 75% reduction in HIV infections by 2020. If we do, we are likely to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, “said the president.
“Unfortunately, we are not there yet. We need to do much more to ensure that young people are trained to prevent infection, including through behavioral changes, access to condoms, and regular testing. We must ensure that everyone infected has access. to treatment and care “.
Ramaphosa added that to end AIDS as a public health threat in the next decade, the country needs to combine medical advances such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with fundamental changes in behavior.
“We also need to address the economic and social conditions that contribute to high infection rates.”
The President said:
On this World AIDS Day, which falls in the shadow of another devastating pandemic, let us intensify both our resolve and our actions to confront and overcome AIDS once and for all.
Ramaphosa said Vice President David Mabuza on Tuesday will lead the national commemoration with a speech on progress in the country’s response to HIV / AIDS as president of the South African National AIDS Council.
Read the full newsletter here.
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