19, July 2023

UN official lauds Yaoundé’s strides in HIV/AIDS prevention and control 0

Cameroon has made “remarkable” strides in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, a United Nations official said on Tuesday.

Winnie Byanyima, executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), made the remarks after meeting Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute in Yaoundé.

“Cameroon has been succeeding in fighting against HIV/AIDS in the last 10 to 12 years, bringing down infections by more than 60 percent,” Byanyima said.

Despite the encouraging strides, there are still challenges, and efforts, especially in stopping mother to child infection and keeping children on treatment, need to be stepped up to keep the infection rate lower, she said.

There is an “ambitious plan to roll out universal secondary education so that girls are safe at school and not infected,” she added.

The HIV prevalence rate in Cameroon dropped from 3.3 percent in 2020 to 2.7 percent last year, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

Source: Xinhuanet