Johannesburg - This World Aids Day, the international community is focusing on how to end the HIV/Aids epidemic by 2030.
Experts believe it can be done by overcoming barriers to HIV care and treatment by focusing on priority populations and supporting them through lifelong treatment.
It is reported that the focus must be on identifying the remaining “last mile” barriers and focusing on the unique needs of the vulnerable populations, including the most affected population of all, teenage girls.
Nkosi Tshabalala, co-host of a webinar with top African HIV experts and BroadReach Health Development’s Acting District Director, Gert Sibande, in Mpumalanga, South Africa, explains their main focus in preventing the transmission of HIV.
“One of the first things we can do to overcome barriers to HIV care is to move away from the ‘tyranny' of the aggregate. That means instead of just looking at general HIV numbers and adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to prevention and care, we must focus on the specific communities that have the highest HIV prevalence. We must determine what we can do for them in a human-centric, caring way to address their specific health needs so that they can reach viral suppression. This is the key to stopping further transmission of HIV in society by 2030,” shared Tshabalala.
Reaching adolescent women, the most at-risk population group for HIV in Africa.
“Today, the face of HIV in Africa is a young girl with a baby on her back, who, when faced with the difficult choice of self-care versus child-care, will always sacrifice her own health for her child,” said panellist Thanduxolo Doro, People Living with HIV (PLHIV) Civil Society Leader and Project Management Specialist for USAID South Africa.
Taking care of the needs of priority HIV/Aids communities.
For society to achieve epidemic control, priority must be given to key populations, including men who avoid seeking medical help, vulnerable young girls, commercial sex workers, and members of the LGBTQI+ communities for whom it was difficult or even risky to seek help.
One often overlooked and blamed group is adult men, for whom it was often practically challenging or embarrassing to come to clinics for HIV testing, treatment, and care.
Dr Veni Naidu, HIV Community Services Lead with BroadReach Health Development, who oversees their Dreams programme for young women, said adolescent girls and young women are disproportionately vulnerable to HIV infection due to their socio-economic circumstances.
Dreams is a USAID initiative across Africa to support and mentor at-risk adolescent girls and young women.
They reveal that in order to overcome these challenges, the healthcare community needed to be innovative.
The Star