Stakeholders discuss HIV National Strategic Plan
Stakeholders in the Brong Ahafo Region have held a forum in Sunyani to discuss the Ghana AIDS Commission’s new HIV National Strategic Plan (NSP) for the next five years, in line with efforts to combat the spread of the deadly disease.
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The NSP (2016-2020) will provide guidance and direction, as well as help mobilise action and focus on resources needed for the fight against the disease.
The previous NSP on HIV (2011-2015) ended recently, necessitating the drawing-up of a new strategic plan.
The meeting is being replicated in all the 10 regions of the country to help map out a strategy to deal with the menace.
Long-term goal
In an address read on her behalf by the Eastern Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Ms Golda Asante, the Director-General of the commission, Dr Angela El-Adas, announced that the UNAIDS had set a long-term goal to end AIDS by 2030, meaning that by that year, AIDS will no longer threaten human life.
In order to achieve this goal, she said, short-term targets had been set for 2020 to allow countries to track the progress of the global long-term goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
These short-term targets are popularly called “90-90-90” meaning that by 2020, 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their status, 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90 per cent of all people receiving ART will have viral suppression.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Stakeholders’ Consultation meeting was thus convened to serve as a platform of exchange and dialogue for developing policy and institutional measures to attain the first 90 Fast Track target.
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Dr El-Adas explained that the NSP 2016-2020 was aligned with the 90-90-90 fast-track targets of the UNAIDS, pointing out that Ghana initiated a national campaign to achieve the first 90 Fast Track target because of its link to the achievement of the other two targets.
According to her, the First 90 campaign was designed “to increase awareness of available HIV testing services and encourage Ghanaians to test and know their HIV status, boost HIV testing rates, as this was generally low in the country.”
Reducing stigma
She said the campaign was also to reduce stigma and discrimination towards HIV testing and improve accountability on HIV testing services.
“We need all hands on deck to mobilise communities to massively access HIV testing services and ensure that we expand our testing approaches to provide many people with services, as well as mobilise test kits to support the campaign,” she said.
Deputy B/A Minister
In his address, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, expressed the hope that the outcome of the meeting would lead to strengthening Ghana’s HIV response and lead to the attainment of an HIV-free society.
In a related development, it is estimated that 171,000 people living with HIV and AIDS in the country are unable to access treatment, reports Timothy Ngnenbe, ACCRA.
According to the latest UNAIDS figures, only 89,000 out of the estimated 260,000 people living with the pandemic in Ghana are on treatment.
The officer in charge of UNAIDS, Ghana, Mrs Hellen Odido, made this known to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a general meeting held by the National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NAP+) in Accra last Tuesday.
She called on the government to put in place mechanisms that would ensure that all HIV and AIDS patients had access to the right treatment.
“The government ought to, as a matter of policy, look for resources to put all of these patients on the right medication. This is what the World Health Organisation has advocated all countries to do,” she said.
Advisory board
The annual general meeting of NAP+, which was attended by representatives of the Ghana AIDS Commission, West Africa AIDS Foundation, and some advocacy groups, was used to inaugurate a 13-member advisory board for the association.
The board would be required, among other things, to advocate the wellbeing of persons living with HIV and AIDS and supervise the operations of the national executive committee (NEC) of the association.
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Speaking at the event, the President of NAP+, Mr Emmanuel Beluzebr, said the inauguration of the advisory board would enhance opportunities and rights of members of the group.