Political will needed to fight HIV

The United Nations resident coordinator, Musinga Bandora, has said that Namibia has made significant progress in creating awareness on the detrimental effects of HIV/AIDS on the nation.
Speaking at the opening of the “Towards Zero New Infections in Namibia: HIV Combination Prevention” workshop, Bandora said that HIV/AIDS can be combated if treatment is paired with prevention.
“HIV prevention is effective when supported by strong political leadership and good governance, therefore the government must continue with strategies to combat the disease,” he said.
The aim of the workshop is to increase the capacity of key stakeholders including government, development partners and civil society in order for them to prioritise and sustain efforts on HIV prevention and at the same time re-galvanising effective combination prevention programming.
Also speaking at the workshop, Dr Richard Kamwi, Minister of Health and Social Services, said
that in previous years, the epidemic had become a lucrative business for funeral homes with AIDS related deaths being the order of the day.
Kamwi added that this has now changed as 95% of people living with HIV, are on anti-retroviral treatment.
The Health Minister however said that there is still a great need for financial resources to be put in place to further the roll out of treatment.