AIDS council releases UN update

By ELIZABETH MIAE
THE National AIDS Council Secretariat (NACS) launched its 2010 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) report in Port Moresby yesterday.
The UNGASS country progress report is the second for NACS, the first was done in 2008.
PNG was among 189 member states to the United Nations which adopted the declaration made at the UNGASS in 2001 requiring member states to report to the general assembly every two years on their progress towards achieving the goals of the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.
“The notable difference and improvement in the 2010 UNGASS Country Report is the National Composite Index component of the report,” director of NACS Wep Kanawi said.
“It is more in depth and comprehensive than the last report because the core working group invested greater effort and more funds to ensure the success of the process. In addition, this report covers nearly all of the 25 indicators unlike the last report where only 16 indicators were reported on,” he explained.
According to the report, PNG had achieved a lot in scaling up the national anti-retroviral therapy (ART) programme.
By last December, more than 6,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) were put on ART with an overall survival rate of 83%.
The report also noted the greater involvement of PLHIV in all facets of the national response.