-28% of people living with HIV/AIDS on treatment
By Alloycious David
Liberia is making swift progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, new statistics released by UNAIDS in Monrovia show.
UNAIDS Country Director in Liberia, Dr. Miriam Chipimo disclosed at the weekend that 32 percent of people living with HIV now know their status, while 28 percent of them have been placed on treatment.
Chipino told participants at a one-day Liberia HIV and Social Protection Planning Workshop, Dr. Chipimo disclosed that efforts are being made to reach 55 percent of people living with HIV by the end of 2018.
The workshop was intended for stakeholders to review and endorse the final HIV and Social Protection Assessment Report and to develop an HIV and Social Protection roll out plan.
She said UNAIDS was pleased to be part of the follow up workshop that brought HIV and Social protection stakeholders together and acknowledged that good progress in building knowledge on HIV and AIDS situation in Liberia has been made.
The UNAIDS official disclosed that Liberia has developed an HIV catch up plan under the leadership of the National AIDS Commission and noted “we are on the right trajectory to reaching our triple 90 targets for 2020.”
Chipimo said despite the gains, there is a need to ensure that the country supply chain management system is functional and fit for purpose to ensure that every Liberian that needs an HIV test is able to get it done.
In addition to that, she said every Liberian that requires treatment for HIV infections should get the service to enable them to live long and healthy lives, free of stigma and discrimination.
“The barriers to accessing health and HIV services include unavailability of transport money due to poverty, poor access to nutritious food for those living with HIV and most of all stigma and discrimination,” the UNAIDS Country Director noted.
She highlighted that the HIV and social protection strategy will focus on the three high HIV burden counties because 80 percent of people living with HIV are in those counties.
“We need to end HIV as public health threat by 2020 and all the efforts we can put in to ensure high coverage of HIV services and social protection in these three counties will bring us closer to the 90-90-90 target,” the UNAIDS Country Director disclosed.
Liberia’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Williametta Piso Saydee-Tarr said the national social protection strategy and policy for Liberia has been in existence since July 2013.
This policy she said is intended to address the needs of those in communities considered extremely poor and vulnerable to economic shocks.
Minister Saydee-Tarr pledged her commitment to ensuring that the social protection programs reach those in our community that are most vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic.
“I look forward to receiving the proposed roll out plan for HIV and Social Protection and will do my utmost to mobilize resources for the implementation, ” the Gender, the Liberian Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection said.