More than 49,000 people living with HIV on anti-saving treatment – NAP

Mr clement Azigwe, President of the Network of Persons Living with HIV and AIDS (NAP-GHANA), has said without the Global Fund grants, thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS would not be alive.

He said grants from the fund have supported more than 49,000 people living with HIV on anti-saving treatment.

Mr Azigwe told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Friday that currently over 114,000 adults and children living with HIV in the country were eligible for the antiretroviral therapy but just 50 per cent were receiving it.

The Global Fund is an international financing institution that invests the world’s money to save lives by fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Currently, it has committed $22.4 million in 150 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment and care programmes against the three diseases.

He said periodic stock-outs of ARVs threaten the incredible achievements Ghana has made towards universal access to date.

“Efforts must be maintained in order to keep the HIV prevalence of 1.5 per cent low and address specific areas where the prevalence rate is higher,” he said.

He said that the Ghana National HIV and AIDS strategic plan 2011-2015 lays out bold measures to reduce HIV infection by 50 per cent and ensure 95 per cent of adults and children living with HIV.

The plan is also aimed at eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015.

He called for more donations from donors to sustain the Global Fund, “we cannot afford to backtrack on our progress but must scale up and sustain access to antiretroviral therapy over the long-term.”

NAP-GHANA established in 2005 is a network of member associations representing persons living with HIV and AIDS in Ghana.

It aims at improving the quality of lives of people living with HIV through effective participation in national policy programmes and dialogue.

Source: GNA