HIV/AIDS remains an epidemic

WITH the turn of events on the political front the last two weeks, Papua New Guinea should not forget health issues especially HIV.
The coronavirus took the limelight away from the fight against TB, malnutrition, cancer and etc this year but today, do not forget it’s World AIDS day.
Today, people around the world unite to show their support to people living with HIV and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Each World AIDS Day focuses on a specific theme, which this year will be global solidarity, shared responsibility.
This year’s theme joins a growing list of challenges that World AIDS Day has alerted people to globally.
Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever international day for global health.
Every year, United Nations agencies, governments and civil society unite to campaign around specific themes related to HIV.
With that we echo the sentiments echoed by Business4Health that AIDS is not over in PNG.
Business4Health, or B4H, highlighted that PNG continues to have serious issues with HIV.
It said 52,000 people in PNG were living with HIV and needed lifelong treatment.
It said nine people contracted it every day in PNG, with 3,300 infected over the course of a year.
In 2016, Papua New Guinea had 2,800 (2,300 to 3,400) new HIV infections and 1,100 (more than 1,000 to 1,400) AIDS-related deaths. There were 46,000 (40,000 to 51,000) people living with HIV in 2016, among whom 52 per cent (46 per cent to 58 per cent) were accessing antiretroviral therapy.
Among pregnant women living with HIV, 33 per cent (25 per cent to 39 per cent) were accessing treatment or prophylaxis to prevent transmission of HIV to their children.
An estimated 500 to 1,000 children were newly infected with HIV due to mother-to-child transmission.
PNG has the highest incidence and prevalence of HIV in the Pacific.
The country experienced a significant improvement in the roll-out of treatment services, but the country’s health system is facing difficulties in retaining people on life-long treatment, especially among key populations and in the country’s remote and often hard-to-reach communities.
It is worrying to know that PNG was still a long way to achieving its 2030 goal of reducing the number of deaths, new infections and mother-to-child transmission.
Not to be completely written off, efforts were being made by the government as well as the development partners but it should be placed at the right place where required outcomes would be achieved
There are many challenges and one of them is the need for a better system in place to carry out as well sustain the prevention of parent-to-child transmission.
All efforts should be put into ensuring a proper solution for this long standing problem.
We need a strong advocacy tool through education, parenting and communities on the impacts of HIV on women and children.
It will be a huge challenge to reach the 90.90.90 UN targets to end HIV epidemic as we now have the knowledge and resources.
It will be a steep challenge, given the dearth of resources for public health in PNG