Fighting HIV/AIDS

IT is frustrating for health professionals to see the re-emergence of HIV/AIDS in the past few years.
PNG made significant strides from 2003 when we were declared to have a generalised epidemic with more than 1 per cent prevalence.
Lots of efforts, with a very strong leadership at the Health department, was able to stabilise the epidemic up to 2014.
Unfortunately, with a change of guard at the health department, and especially with the HIV/AIDS and STI management, the whole national programme collapsed. We failed miserably to build on the gains made up to 2014.
The current government maintains health as the highest budgeted item. Technical governance, both at the department and NACS, is critical for us to rebuild.
The key force in PNG’s early success was Dr Esrom Daoni who has been sidelined for the past several years.
In my professional opinion, Dr Esrom is a very strong technical leader in public health and his strong leadership and management, in all aspects of HIV/AIDS and STI, resulted in much of our early successes.
We need him back somewhere at the national scene to lead PNG in the fight to bring HIV/AIDS and STI under control.

Digani Nosanamba
Public health specialist