Maravi

Zambians should ensure 0% HIV infection rate - Mwaba

COMMENT - If the government wants to 'lower HIV rates' in the country, all they need to do is start using actual Western Blot confirmation tests for confirmation of positive Elisa screening tests, in Demographic and Health Surveys. You'll see 'national HIV infection rates' drop to 3% or less.

Zambians should ensure 0% HIV infection rate - Mwaba
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Thu 24 Nov. 2011, 13:30 CAT

ZAMBIANS should not start celebrating that the HIV infection rate has dropped but should endeavour to make sure that there is zero per cent infection rate in the country, says health permanent secretary Dr Peter Mwaba.

Commenting on the 2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day report that was released in Berlin on Monday which indicates that the total number of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa had dropped by more than 26 per cent, Dr Mwaba said Zambians should make sure that there were no more new infections.

According to the report, the figures have dropped to 1.9 million from the estimated 2.6 million at the height of the epidemic in 1997.

The report indicates that Zambia's HIV prevalence rate currently stands at 14.3 per cent among people aged between 15 and 49.

"The drop in the HIV infections is good but this should not make us sit and we start celebrating. This is a challenge for us and there is need to do more. What we should make sure is that there are no more new infections, this is the only way to bring the infection rate to zero," he said

Dr Mwaba said Zambia's 14.3 per cent HIV infection rate is a big number for the country's population.

"It is good that the HIV infection rate has been dropping, but the 14.3 per cent is still very big and it is a challenge. There is a lot that needs to be done. We should work on bringing it to zero per cent and it is possible if people are taking precautions," said Dr Mwaba.

The report was released by UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe during an International Conference on HIV, titled "HIV Prevention without Barriers", revealed that in 2010, about 68 per cent of people living with HIV resided in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with only 12 per cent of the global population.

"In 22 sub-Saharan countries, research shows HIV incidence declined by more than 25 per cent between 2001 and 2009. This includes some of the world's largest epidemics in Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The annual HIV incidence in South Africa, though still high, dropped by a third between 2001 and 2009 from 2.4 per cent to 1.5 per cent," the report stated.

"Similarly the epidemics in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia appear to be declining. The epidemics in Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland seem to be leveling off, albeit at unacceptably high levels."

The report however stated that sub-Saharan Africa remains the most heavily affected by HIV. The report stated that in 2010, sub-Sahara Africa accounted for 70 per cent of new HIV infections, although there was a decline in the regional rate of new infections.

Labels: HIV/AIDS

posted by MrK @ 3:16 PM