UNAIDS chief proposes ways to reduce HIV/AIDS in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania can reach its target of HIV epidemic control by 2030 by bringing an end to societal and economic inequalities that affect women, adolescent girls and children because these inequalities have put barriers towards prevention and treatment of the disease.

In a 2022 report titled ‘Dangerous Inequalities’ that was prepared by The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and launched in Dar es Salaam yesterday ahead of World Aids Day on December 1, it was revealed that despite the country making strides to control HIV, there were still factors that deters the prevention speed.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the UNAIDS executive director, Ms Winnie Byanyima urged the government to bring an end to the inequalities.

“We must equalize for women and girls to reduce their HIV risks,” she said during a press conference that was also attended by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled), Mr Simbachawene George, the Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Godwin Mollel and other health stakeholders. According to Ms Byanyima, in sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women were three times more likely to be infected with HIV than boys and men of the same age.

“The driving factor behind this is inequality,” she detailed.

She mentioned that the numbers of Tanzanians dying from new HIV infections of HIV has reduced to 50 percent from 2019.

However, the country has to now focus on the key groups that are left behind to fully prevent and treat the disease.

“We have launched this report in Tanzania because the country is a strong performer in fighting this disease. Currently, we are not on track to end HIV by 2030 as was agreed by all the governments of the world however. The goal is still possible if we all begin to equalize,” Ms Byanyima said.

She further unveiled that if countries enable girls to stay in schools until they complete secondary education, they can reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection by up to 50 percent. “In this education, countries can include comprehensive sexuality education that can assist girls to learn about their bodies at early ages and how they can protect themselves against the disease,” Ms Byanyima explained.

She referred to Machinga district situated in Malawi where new HIV diagnoses among adolescent girls and women reduced by over 30 percent in two years after the Malawi government invested in ensuring young women and girls finished their secondary education.

Another group that Ms Byanyima emphasized on is that of children living with HIV. She said that with the advancement of science at the moment, no baby should be born with HIV and that even the ones living with the disease should be without treatment.

“While 87 percent of adults living with the disease are on treatment, only 60 percent of children are and this is truly heart-breaking. We will not allow this shameful and avoidable injustice to continue,” she stressed. On another hand, Ms Byanyima said that countries across the world have to also learn how to tackle the inequalities in resources.

“The corona pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine have increased inequality worldwide. Every day, the rich countries of the G20 countries receive 136 million dollars in debt repayments from poor countries in the South. Meanwhile in these developing countries, the repayment of debt is more than four times what they spend on health and twice what they spend on education. This is not right and it is time all countries step up instead of stepping away,” she said.

On his part, Minister Simbachawene said that the newly launched report aligns with the Tanzania development plan between 2021 and 2025 which prioritizes the health sector as it seeks to advance both the availability and quality of health education.

“Despite our efforts to strengthen HIV in terms of control and prevention, some sections of the population are being left behind, however a number of strategies are being developed at the moment to suppress such inequalities. We are committed to equalize and thereby bridge the social and economic gaps that fuel the spread of HIV as well as other infectious diseases,” he explained.

Commenting on the report themed ‘equalize’, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tumaini Nagu, said that the report relates to Tanzania because in spite of the reduction of new infections, young girls were still left behind to

‘Our strategic plan says ‘leaving no one behind’ but the reality of it, many adolescent girls become of age without the knowledge of the disease in its totality and this increases their risks to get infected. The new report has to lead to formation of education initiatives that will assist to disseminate education on HIV prevention and treatment. This report should also include groups that were left behind from the beginning such as fisheries and miners,” she averred.

On her part, a community expert from National Council of People Living with HIV, Ms Bahati Haule, emphasized that it was about time every person became accountable to ensure that Tanzania controls HIV before 2030.

“One of the things that sabotage on the efforts carried out by the government and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) is the stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV.”

We still have poor perspectives on the disease that discourages people, especially young people, from not getting tested or even getting a better understanding of the disease. We have a long way to go but hopefully we will get towards the goal,” she said.