Ministry of Health has warned Malawians against relenting and relaxing in the fight against HIV and Aids as latest statistics indicate that the country is registering 15, 000 new HIV cases annually.
Additionally, the country loses 11, 000 HIV and Aids-related deaths per year, a development authorities at the Capital Hill and its development partners have described as ‘still too huge’.
Care and Treatment Programme Officer in the Department of HIV and Aids (DHA), Dr. Bilaal Wilson, lamented that while the country on track to attain UNAIDS’ 95:95:95 targets, the battle to reduce new infections seems to be far from reach.
Wilson made the sentiments in an interview on the sidelines of a mid-year review of the National Strategic Plan for HIV and Aids (2022-2025). The review meeting took place at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Thursday.
“In term of progress, we have made a good progress towards achieving the 95:95:95 targets. Of course, we are lagging behind in the first 95, which deals with testing and the number of HIV people who know their status. But that is just at 94 percent, and we believe that by 2025, we should be able to hit the target,” he said.
“However, although we are mostly likely to achieve the targets, the fight against HIV and Aids is not over. We still have a high number of people contracting HIV annually. We also have a challenge with HIV positive persons adhering to treatment and care,” added Wilson.
This notwithstanding, UNAIDS Country Director Dr. Nuha Ceesay, said his organization is impressed with the progress Malawi is making towards eliminating Aids by 2030.
Ceesay pledged continued support to Malawi’s fight against the disease.