Namibia’s HIV figures are not coming down, says UNAIDS

THE latest United Nations report on HIV-AIDS has expressed concern that there were no signs of the disease’s decline in Namibia last year.

In its report, issued on the eve of a UN General Assembly session on the disease, UNAIDS said Namibia had a 19,6 per cent prevalence last year and made great strides in expanding access to treatment although there was less progress in bringing HIV prevention programmes to scale. Namibia’s official survey report of 2004 had an overall prevalence rate of 19,8 per cent while the 2004 UNAIDS report stated that there was a 21,3 per cent prevalence.The UN report said only Zimbabwe has seen a drop from 22,1 per cent to 20,1 per cent in prevalence in southern Africa – the worst affected region in the world.The report said that while the world was at last making progress against the disease, thanks to increases in spending, better access to drugs and growing awareness, huge problems remained.It said such problems included prevention programmes which were still far off target and inaccessible to millions of people.”Important progress has been made since the 2001 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV-AIDS, yet there is extraordinary diversity in the response to HIV between countries and regions,” the report said.It said domestic public expenditure by governments increased significantly in low-income sub-Saharan African countries.In 2003, Namibia spent N$35 million from its own coffers on HIV-AIDS but that increased to N$38,6 million last year.Treatment access also expanded dramatically over the past three years.The report said the percentage of HIV-infected pregnant women receiving a complete course of antiretroviral treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission in 2003 was at seven per cent but increased to 25 per cent in 2005.By the end of last year, the percentage of people with advanced HIV infection receiving antiretroviral combination therapy reached 35 per cent while the total coverage of those on ARVs was 71 per cent.Some 91 per cent of those on ARV treatment have survived for 12 months or more.The UNAIDS report said a major challenge was that HIV-prevention programmes were failing to reach those greatest at risk.”Efforts to increase knowledge about AIDS among young people remain inadequate,” it said.It said services to prevent HIV infections in infants have not scaled up as rapidly as programmes to provide antiretroviral therapy, with just nine per cent of pregnant women being covered in low- and middle-income countries.Namibia’s official survey report of 2004 had an overall prevalence rate of 19,8 per cent while the 2004 UNAIDS report stated that there was a 21,3 per cent prevalence.The UN report said only Zimbabwe has seen a drop from 22,1 per cent to 20,1 per cent in prevalence in southern Africa – the worst affected region in the world.The report said that while the world was at last making progress against the disease, thanks to increases in spending, better access to drugs and growing awareness, huge problems remained.It said such problems included prevention programmes which were still far off target and inaccessible to millions of people. “Important progress has been made since the 2001 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV-AIDS, yet there is extraordinary diversity in the response to HIV between countries and regions,” the report said.It said domestic public expenditure by governments increased significantly in low-income sub-Saharan African countries.In 2003, Namibia spent N$35 million from its own coffers on HIV-AIDS but that increased to N$38,6 million last year.Treatment access also expanded dramatically over the past three years.The report said the percentage of HIV-infected pregnant women receiving a complete course of antiretroviral treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission in 2003 was at seven per cent but increased to 25 per cent in 2005.By the end of last year, the percentage of people with advanced HIV infection receiving antiretroviral combination therapy reached 35 per cent while the total coverage of those on ARVs was 71 per cent.Some 91 per cent of those on ARV treatment have survived for 12 months or more.The UNAIDS report said a major challenge was that HIV-prevention programmes were failing to reach those greatest at risk.”Efforts to increase knowledge about AIDS among young people remain inadequate,” it said.It said services to prevent HIV infections in infants have not scaled up as rapidly as programmes to provide antiretroviral therapy, with just nine per cent of pregnant women being covered in low- and middle-income countries.