Eswatini HIV cases drop despite global spike
MBABANE – Despite an increase in new HIV infections globally, Eswatini has experienced a slight decline.
This was said at the launch of UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2022, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland. The report revealed that about 1.5 million people globally were infected with HIV during the COVID-19 period.
Fortunately, Eswatini has seen a drastic decline in new HIV infections since 2015, from 12 000 to 6 900, while on the other hand, AIDS-related deaths have declined from 3 600 in 2015 to 2 600 in 2021. Although Eswatini has achieved remarkable progress, some gaps remained and the world in general was not on track.
Infected
The report further indicated that about 4 000 people, including 1 100 young people aged between 15 and 24, were being infected with HIV every day. The report further revealed that there was an expected increase in new HIV infections by 1.2 million in 2025, three times more than the 2025 target of 370 000 new infections. As a result, treatment coverage in both regions was the same and sitting at 78 per cent.
Last year, world leaders came together at the United Nations in New York and agreed to implement a groundbreaking Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. That plan takes on the inequalities that drive the pandemic, will dramatically reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 2025, and end the AIDS pandemic as a global health threat by 2030.
During the conference, the world leaders discussed the strategies they were expected to put into action in curbing the spread of HIV and new policies which could be implemented as well. Global leaders had also called for the prevention of new HIV infections and millions of AIDS-related deaths. NERCHA Head of Communications Siphesihle Nkwanyana said the number of new infections globally was alarming. NERCHAis an acronym for the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS. She said the figure went beyond the anticipated figure which was estimated to be around 300 000.
“The global new infections are so alarming. The numbers tripled during the COVID-19 era,” she said.
Nkwanyana said parents’ failure to tell their children about their HIV status had resulted in young people developing hatred towards them. She said such an act had resulted in some of them not taking care of themselves.
“As a parent, it is very important to tell your child about his or her HIV status before it is too late. Failure to do so will mean raising up a young and angry generation. At times they decide not to take their medication because of the anger they have towards their parents. They end up infecting more people, leading to an increase in the number of new HIV infections,” she said.
Nkwanyana said it was important for parents to disclose any form of medication they were giving to their children to avoid such an incident. She said telling their children about their HIV status at an early age would help the youth live responsibly.
A woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she failed to tell her child about her HIV status because of fear. She said there was stigma revolving around HIV positive people.
Child
She said it was in that regard that she never told her child about her HIV status as people would think she would die anytime soon. “The issue of stigma is of great concern to us who are living with HIV. Where can we start telling our children that we were giving them anti-retroviral treatment. I am afraid to disclose my HIV status and that of my child to anybody.
said the woman.
Some women said men were not giving them the full support they expected from them after discovering that they were living with HIV. They also argued that men ended up accusing them of being promiscuous. They said they were concerned why most men were not giving them the full support they required because they were doing the same to them. They said the error must be corrected. Nkwanyana encouraged all men to support their partners despite their HIV status. She said men must accompany their spouses anytime they visited health facilities. She also condemned the idea of men of gauging their HIV status based on the wives. She said everyone must take care of himself or herself.
Since the world was celebrating breastfeeding week, mothers living with HIV felt that they do experience stigma in most communities. Nkwanyana said the issue of stigmatisation was of great concern as it resulted in most mothers being afraid to breastfeed their children even if the doctors said so.