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MBABANE – NERCHA Head of Communications Siphesihle Nkwanyana said there is a need for more participation in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Nkwanyana said institutions needed to also strengthen the participation of students and staff in HIV and AIDS campaigns, peer counselling training of trainers, networking with other organisations and provision of antiretroviral (ART) in tertiary institutions.

“This involves developing and mainstreaming fresh, innovative, human-cantered and effective awareness programmes that would lead to behavioural change,” she said.

According to NERCHA, forming a support group for students living with HIV was also a strong recommendation and a gap that

was identified while working with the UNESWA team.

“The support group will help students share experiences of living with HIV and help each other overcome fear and stigma from their peers,” added Nkwanyana.

Moving into 2022, the head of communications said ending AIDS would be when the number of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths declined.

Deaths

She said that so far, the rate of the drop in AIDS-related deaths was on track, whereas the rate of the drop in new HIV infections was not so much on track with the rise in new infections among adolescent girls and young women in the country.

“Even if we achieve our target of ending AIDS as a public health threat, HIV would be an endemic health problem. An endemic disease is one that is always present

in a certain population or region,” she said.

Nkwanyana also added that this year emaSwati needed to get the National vision of ‘Ending AIDS by 2022’ back on track.

“Sustaining it requires that all relevant interventions are arranged and provided in continuum. This reducing vulnerability to HIV transmission as well as linking people to care through early initiation to ART,” she said.

She further highlighted that the response should boost the five pillars of combination prevention such as condom promotion, programmes focused on key populations, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) and combination prevention for adolescent girls and young women. She added that efforts are needed to know the epidemic and the response.