Namibia on track with its Aids goals – first lady

Namibia is on track to reach UNAids targets by 2020, says first lady Monica Geingos who has received an international award for her fight against Aids in Namibia.

Geingos affirmed her country’s successful fight against Aids as she and Irish pop star Bob Geldof were presented with the 2018 World Without Aids Award.

The ceremony was hosted by the German Aids Foundation on Sunday in Berlin.

The award was presented by German Health Minister Jens Spahn in recognition of the leadership role the first lady has played in the global agenda to end Aids by 2030, the Namibian Broadcasting Agency (NBA) reported.

Attending the ceremony were more than 2 000 guests, including the President of the Federal Republic of German, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier and first lady Elke Büdenbender.

In her acceptance speech, Geingos expanded on Namibia’s success in its response to HIV.

Her personal focus has been on initiatives that engage young people on the disease through her #BeFree movement, a multi-faceted youth-driven platform that also facilitates access to services.

She said that a recent Namibia’s Population-based HIV Impact Assessment showed women had already achieved the UNAids targets set for 2020.

But there was still work to be done on reaching satisfactory statistics for men, she said.

The south west African country’s success is attributed to global solidarity and investments, with domestic funding accounting for 65% of its HIV response.

However, Geingos warned that structural inequalities could undermine the gains made if social and economic empowerment approaches were not integrated. – ANA