STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER

 

DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI

Read by Deputy Prime Minister, Senator Paul Dlamini

AT THE WORLD AIDS DAY COMMEMORATION

 

AT MANKAYANE SPORTS GROUND

 

THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016

Honourable Minister(s)

Your Excellency United States Ambassador

IPPF Director General

Manzini Regional Administrator

Mankayane Town Mayor

NERCHA Council Chairperson

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my honour, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, to welcome all here today, and others who are with us in spirit, as the Nation joins the rest of the world in commemorating 2016 World AIDS Day.  I regret that I cannot be with you in person but the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister has kindly undertaken to read my statement to you.

It is, of course, the day when the global community takes time to reflect on the appalling damage that HIV and AIDS did to so many people, families and communities, and reaffirm our determination to work together in the fight against HIV.  At the same time we are remembering those who have died while consumed by AIDS, and re-committing our support for people who are today living with HIV.

The HIV and AIDS landscape has, of course, been transformed to almost inconceivable extent.  Thirty years ago, when the first HIV case was diagnosed, it soon became apparent that contracting the virus was almost certainly a death sentence.  But since the life-saving anti-retroviral treatment (ART) became broadly available to our people in 2003, there was no longer the certainty of HIV deteriorating into AIDS.  That represented dramatic progress.  There is still no cure for HIV, nor even a vaccine, but it is now a manageable disease.  Today, children who were born with HIV are alive, many attending college, while their parents actively participate in productive employment.

Today, we in Swaziland are providing treatment to 150,000 of our people living with HIV and we have reduced the mother-to-child HIV transmission almost to zero when not long ago there was a 30% transmission rate.  Across the world there are three million people on antiretroviral treatment. That shows just how invasive the HIV virus has been.

The theme for 2016 World AIDS Day is Hands Up For HIV Prevention, and, not surprisingly, since that is the remaining hitherto most disappointing area – that people are still getting infected.  Getting to Zero, which ran for five years to mobilize the world to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS related deaths and zero stigma and discrimination is then taken to this point where HIV prevention is singled out as the critical game changer. 

The global target for ending AIDS related deaths is 2030.  In Swaziland we are aiming to achieve that target eight years earlier in 2022.   That target is achievable.  The one that continues to create doubt is getting to zero new infections.

As each year passes more and more is learned about the HIV virus, research is demonstrating clearly that the sooner a person with HIV starts the treatment the better the prognosis for that individual, as well as the treatment itself contributing to preventing the spread of HIV. 

Allow me then to take this moment to honour those people living with HIV who have taken an HIV test, have enrolled for ART and have adhered to the very straightforward but disciplined procedure for that treatment.

We have heard from the previous speakers, that our theme this year offers us all a space to express our views on what we feel needs to be done to strengthen current HIV prevention efforts. Let us therefore focus, in the first instance, on what can be done to reduce HIV incidence, especially among adolescent girls and young women, who are the most vulnerable to being newly infected with HIV. Let us all take the opportunity to explore the different aspects of HIV prevention that are relevant to us as individuals, children, families, communities and the nation at large.

In accordance with this year’s theme, I raise my own hand, in order to present Knowing your HIV status as a crucially important step in helping to prevent new HIV infections. When we all know our status, we will be able to make appropriate choices to remain HIV negative, or access government supported HIV treatment and health services. I therefore call upon all of us, especially men, to take an HIV test.

 

You see, whatever the result of the HIV test, there is a direction to take. If you test negative, you will be given the necessary information, and services to enable you to remain negative. If you test positive, Government and our partners will enable you to access ART, at no charge, to enable you to live a quality life. All pregnant woman who test HIV positive will be given treatment and assisted to deliver an HIV-free baby. So do come forward and take the test.

For couples, where one partner is HIV positive and the other HIV negative, the negative partner will be assisted to remain negative, while the one who is positive will be placed on treatment.  Medical science has also progressed significantly in this particular area.

Co-infection with HIV and TB has been very much influenced by the HIV pandemic, and can present a potentially dangerous situation.  Such patients will be enrolled on treatment for TB and HIV simultaneously. When they are cured of TB they will remain on HIV treatment.

HIV-related stigma and discrimination, which is still prevalent, should be condemned as equally devastating in its own way.  It can give rise to abandonment by a partner or family, social exclusion, job and property loss, school drop-out, refusal to access medical services, and gender based violence. The more knowledgeable and open our entire society is about HIV, and the more publicly and privately critical we are of those who promote stigma, the more likely people will be to come in for HIV testing, will disclose their HIV status, and adopt positive HIV prevention behaviour or access treatment, care and support. 

Swaziland has come a long way in our national fight against HIV and AIDS. This World AIDS Day is therefore an opportunity to remind all of us that HIV is still a reality and that it is incumbent upon everyone of us to look closely at how individually we will contribute to achieving the Three Zeros, especially zero new infections.  We should also make ourselves familiar with the latest global target – 90-90-90.  That is 90% of those with HIV duly diagnosed, 90% HIV-positive being on ARVs, and 90% of those on treatment having a fully suppressed viral load.

As I conclude, let me draw your attention to the Umgubudla HIV Investment Case and Fast Track programme which translates into an action plan His Majesty’s vision of achieving an AIDS-free Swaziland by 2022. Let me encourage all of us to work together in accelerated progress in the programme.

Finally may I, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, express our deepest gratitude to all our development and funding partners, especially the Government of the United States of America, for the technical and financial support for our national response at all levels. Without that generous and caring contribution, we would not have achieved the results that have changed the lives of so many Swazi people. 

Thank you.