Southern Africa's Strides in the HIV Response Attributed to Communities
HIV and AIDS response programs require funding and one notable thing these countries have done to attain the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target is domestic resource mobilization.
HARARE, Zimbabwe-As the globe continues with the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS' 95-95-95 target for 2025 and to end AIDS by 2030, the southern African countries are dominating the top five that have so far achieved the 95-95-95 target to be attained by 2025, writes Sharon Kavhu.
According to the UNAIDS fact sheet: Botswana, Eswatini, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are leading the top five countries that have so far achieved the target and Rwanda is the fifth country (eastern Africa).
The development is attributed to various community-led HIV responses across the region; effectiveness of policy implementations and sustainable funding.
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, last month acknowledged the significant efforts by community leaders in the fight against HIV and AIDS. She noted that the leadership of communities has been instrumental to the remarkable milestones in the fight against HIV and AIDS over the past decades.
“In the early days of the response, when the world was in denial, communities spoke up to fight the silence and stigma. They were at the forefront of the fight against discrimination. They were the advocates who campaigned for increased access to antiretroviral therapy and care, ensuring that no one would be left behind,” she said in her World AIDS Day commemoration remarks.
“I must emphasize the crucial role of community-led monitoring in improving community leadership for HIV. It is important to recognize that effective community leadership goes beyond advocacy and activism. It involves empowering communities with the tools and knowledge to monitor their progress and hold decision-makers accountable. Community-led monitoring has been a powerful mechanism. It allows communities to monitor and evaluate HIV programs, policies and services that directly impact their lives, and help identify human rights violations, stigma and discrimination within health care settings, allowing for prompt interventions and solutions.”
Due to the notable efforts by the communities in response to the HIV and AIDS response, Moeti highlighted the need for African countries to continue creating an enabling environment for communities to lead the HIV response as the region strives to reach the global targets set for 2025 and 2030.
In Eswatini, the HIV response milestone is also attributed to effective partnerships of key sectors such as private, public, international organizations, civil society and communities.
According to the United Nations in Eswatini, the partnerships of key sectors are made effective by the country’s leadership and guidance which has always been putting communities at the center.
Moreover, U.N. Resident Coordinator in Eswatini George Wachira attributes the milestones in HIV response in that country to effective policies and policy implementations.
According to Wachira, this has been made possible by communities that mobilize and advocate for the rights of infected and affected populations.
This means when a policy is enacted, communities are the watchdog to assess effectiveness and ensure implementation.
Communities usually identify HIV-related problems and data used as the basis of any policy design and implementation strategy.
On the other hand, sustainable HIV and AIDS funding for effective programs has played an essential role in southern African countries achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target.
In Botswana, Tanzania and Rwanda for instance, they have a Sustainable Financing Initiative for HIV/AIDS funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, with the aim of increasing sustainability by promoting shared financial responsibility with host country governments.
According to USAID, since 2014, the organization has implemented SFI in 16 countries and two regional programs, with a budget of nearly $48 million.
HIV and AIDS response programs require funding and one notable thing these countries have done to attain the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target is domestic resource mobilization.
For example, Zimbabwe has an AIDS Levy policy implemented by the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe. Since 1999 the policy has been implemented to improve prevention, care and treatment of HIV.
Furthermore, since 2003, Zimbabwe has received over $1.796 billion to fight HIV from the Global Fund and $2.3 billion for all grants covering HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and health systems strengthening, including the COVID-19 response.
Two principal recipients manage grant implementation, according to the U.N. Development Program.
There are several global organizations partnering with southern African countries and most partnerships have made a positive impact in sustainable funding for HIV response programs.
However, although strides have been made, more needs to be done as new HIV infections are still high, particularly among young girls and women in the region.
In Zimbabwe, although the country has further reduced new HIV infections from 27,000 in 2018 to 17,300 in 2022, at least 10,000 of these new infections were among women, according to that country’s Ministry of Health and Child Care.
According to the latest UNAIDS Fact Sheet globally 46% of all new HIV infections were among women and girls in 2022.
Moreover, in sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women accounted for over 77% of new infections among young people aged 15-24 in 2022.
Statistics also show adolescent girls and young women (aged 15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa were more than three times as likely to acquire HIV as their male peers in 2022.
“Every week, 4,000 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 became infected with HIV globally in 2022. 3,100 of these infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa,” the report highlights.