World Health Organization (WHO) Zimbabwe has urged the government of Zimbabwe to redouble efforts to eliminate Mother to Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis.
Addressing the fourth quarter National Validation Committee today, WHO Country Representative, Dr Alex Gasasira said the country needs to do more in order to end AIDS by 2030 since COVID-19 outbreak has has slowed down uptake of essential services.
“Going forward into 2021, we need to redouble our efforts so that we close the gap that has been created by the COVID-19 outbreak and response. We need to be innovative to reach out to those people including women living with HIV who do not know their statuses and ensure that all HIV positive people are put on treatment and they have oppressed viral loads,” he said.
Gasasira commended progress in fighting MTCT of HIV which was 30 percent 20 years ago and now ranging around seven percent.
“Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress of putting people on antiretroviral drugs with more than 1.1 million adults on treatment. However gaps regarding treatment coverage in children,” he added.
Globally since the start of the Mother to Child Transmission program, 1 million deaths and 2, 2 million HIV infections have been averted among children, WHO has confirmed.
Zimbabwe is working to eliminate to mother to child transition and syphilis by 2022.
