The Catholic Church in Malawi has said that the country has made remarkable progress towards dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A Press Statement issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference - ECM on World Aids Day and sent to AMECEA Online News, says that “The prevalence has been declining steadily, reaching 10.6% in 2010 and estimated to be at 10.3% in 2013. The HIV/AIDS response in Malawi is guided by the revised HIV and AIDS policy. The HIV/AIDS programs have grown in scale, effectiveness and impact such that positive results have been observed.”
The statement indicated that the rate of new HIV infections among adults declined significantly by more than 50% between 2001 and 2011. “The number of new infections among children 0 – 14 years fell by more than 50% between 2009 and 2012. This is due to wider access to antiretroviral therapy and increase in services to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV.”
Decline in AIDS related deaths is also another remarkable sign of progress mentioned by the statement. “Since the increase in provision of antiretroviral therapy, the number of AIDS related deaths has been declining rapidly. The integration of HIV and Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment has also contributed to the decline of AIDS related mortality. As a result, fewer children are being orphaned because of AIDS,” the Statement said.
It is also a positive sign that the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy has increased; “As of 2013, 83% of eligible adults and children are receiving antiretroviral therapy compared to 63% in 2010.”
Despite the progress that Malawi has registered so far, there are still a number of challenges facing the response to the epidemic. These according to the statement include the fact that sexual transmission remains the highest mode of transmission of HIV infection; Women remain the most severely affected with the HIV epidemic and Youths continue to be infected with the virus.
“Getting to Zero” is a responsibility of every Malawian; the statement said adding that it is a Christian responsibility to halt the negative impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the society.
Source: Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News