South Africa is making progress in its fight against the virus, a United Nations official said Tuesday.
South Africa has around 7 million people living with HIV, that is the highest number of people infected with HIV of any country, according to UN data. Of that number, about 1 million are children and young people under the age of 24, Priscilla Ofori-Amanfo, communication specialist of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, told Xinhua.
The country has taken robust measures to deal with the HIV epidemic, “including an impressive maternal antiretroviral coverage for pregnant women living with HIV of above 95 percent and vertical transmission rate of only 3 percent, resulting in an estimated 548,000 new HIV infections averted among children since 2010,” said Ofori-Amanfo.
The COVID-19-induced lockdown disrupted essential life-saving services including immunization, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS testing, treatment and prevention, she said, citing some evidence that such services have started to rebound since the lockdown was eased.
As the UNICEF has partnered with the South African government to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, the country can further improve its performance, said Ofori-Amanfo.
“Approaches that can be enhanced include improving access to information about HIV/AIDS, empowering communities, making use of preventive measures including condom and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for those at high risk. Communities should also be able to access care through a range of service entry points,” she added.