Zim on track to meet HIV/Aids targets

ZIMBABWE is on course to meet the United Nations’ 90-90-90 targets to help end the Aids epidemic as a public health threat by 2020, a UNAids report has shown.

According to the 2017 Global Aids update report released last week, Zimbabwe is among the leading countries in the Eastern and Southern African region in meeting the target.

The 90-90-90 targets calls on countries to ensure that by 2020 at least 90 percent of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90 percent of all people who are living with HIV and know their status are put on treatment and 90 percent of people on treatment are virally suppressed.

According to the report, knowledge of HIV status among people living with the virus in Zimbabwe was at 75 percent, just one percent short of the regional average.

Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are the only countries in the region that have done better than Zimbabwe, managing 87, 86, 85 and 77 percent respectively.

Madagascar has a meagre seven percent to rank as the lowest on the first 90 target to rank lowest in the region.

On the second target to ensure that 90 percent of all people who are living with HIV and know their status are put on treatment, the report shows that Zimbabwe has so far achieved 82 percent, 3 percent above the regional average of 79 percent.

Botswana has achieved the highest on the second 90 target with an estimated 85 percent of people living with HIV in the country now on treatment.

On the 90 targets, the report shows, Zimbabwe has managed to have virally suppressed, about 72,5 percent of people living with HIV and are on treatment.

Botswana ranks highest, having achieved 81 percent while Malawi ranks lowest with only 26 percent of people living with HIV in that country virally suppressed. The regional average is pegged at 66 percent. This has come at a time when the country has reported that it has successfully averted close to 1,7 million Aids-related deaths and three million new HIV infections over the past 16 years.

According to the Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (Zimphia) Aids related deaths have declined by 77 percent in the country in the last decade.

At least five per 1 000 Aids-related deaths were recorded in 2016 against 50 per 1 000 which was recorded at the height of the epidemic in 1994.

Zimbabwe has also witnessed a significant drop in HIV prevalence and incidence rates over the years.

HIV prevalence in 15-49-year-olds is now 14 percent from 14,8 percent while the rate of new infections among the same age group has been reduced from 0,88 percent to 0,48 percent.

The decline in deaths and new infections has been attributed to the country’s robust HIV response programmes.

Zimbabwe has been leading the regional agenda and may soon be leading the Global agenda on HIV prevention.

The National Aids Council is now scaling up HIV testing in the country as part of efforts to accelerate the achievement of the 90-90-90 goals.

NAC monitoring and evaluation manager Mr Amen Mpofu, said, “We need to test more people. The majority of people who have been tested are on treatment. There is a small number that don’t know their status and we need to come up with innovative ways to reach out to that group.

“If we achieve the first 90 it will be easy for us to achieve the remaining two 90s”.

According to the latest Global Aids update report the Eastern and Southern Africa, home to more than half of people living with HIV globally, has made huge strides towards meeting the 90–90–90 targets.

Three of four people living with HIV in the region are aware of their HIV status, nearly four in five who know their HIV status are on treatment, and more than four in five who are on treatment have suppressed viral loads.

The report further notes that the amount of financial resources available to Aids responses in the region is close to the level required to achieve the Fast-Track Targets by 2020.

According to the report resources available for HIV in eastern and southern Africa have more than doubled from 2006 to 2016, reaching an estimated US$9,6 billion at the end of 2016.