72,000 living with HIV in PNG

THE Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is on the rise with Papua New Guinea presently reporting 18 new infections a day and 72,000- plus persons living with it.
With the National AIDS Council Secretariat for advocacy and social mobilisation Manager Valentine Tangoh is encouraging women, especially those who are pregnant, to go for testing and if diagnosed as positive they would immediately be put on treatment and help prevent HIV from being transmitted to their babies.
Tangoh made this known during a community gathering in the National Capital District recently.
“The numbers are going up is something that we should be worried about and do something to stop the spread of HIV.
“That is why our focus must be on communities to increase the awareness on HIV and encourage more people to go for testing,” he added.
He said to broaden the HIV prevention interventions, the secretariat needs more funding support from the government so it can also support communities to take ownership of HIV prevention interventions through sports and other organised activities.
“You too can help our efforts with creative ways to carry out awareness on preventing the spread of HIV in your community,” Tangoh said.
The secretariat is expected to roll out its new HIV prevention data tool to provinces, beginning with West New Britain next month.
Monitoring, evaluation and research manager Veronica Samof said adding the new forms contained in the tool was to monitor all HIV prevention programmes implemented in all provinces.
She added since the abolishment of the Provincial AIDS Committees in 2015, there has not been any data on HIV prevention activities in the provinces.
“This form will enable the secretariat to have a pathway to report on all the HIV prevention activities,” Samof said.
The data tool was launched and piloted in NCD and Jiwaka last year, however, due to limited funds could not be rolled out until this year.
Unlike the previous forms, the new forms contain all Global Fund and Prevention indicators, as well as indicators from Medium-term Development Plan Four and Global AIDS Monitoring.
Meantime, a brief presentation on the HIV prevention data tool has been included on the secretariat memorandum of agreement consultative meeting with provinces.