Liberia's HIV Catch up Plan Suffers Setbacks

An official of the United Nations office that has the responsibility to respond to HIV and AIDS said Liberia's catchup plan to fight against the disease suffers setbacks.

Dr. Miriam Chipimo, in a meeting with journalists from Anti-AIDS Media Network Tuesday at her office in Monrovia, outlined impediments to the country's HIV catchup plan as scanty tests, low treatment opportunities for people living with HIV and AIDS, including other key populations, health facilities not user friendly, and failure of state actors to properly use donor funds in priority areas as some of the challenges in meeting the catchup plan envisaged in the global target of 90, 90, 90." The treatment coverage is low not only in Liberia but also in the West African region which has a chronic mode of HIV infection," Dr. Chipimo cited.

She added that in a willpower for Liberia to meet up with the catchup plan, UNAIDS has entrusted money to one of its international partners, Global Fund to support the country's respond effort fight against the HIV pandemic, but there a number of things that are needed to be done right to ensure that this happens by 2020. The global target 90, 90, 90 considers that by 2030 Liberia should have at least 90 percent of its population tested, 90 percent treated and 90 percent with suppressed virus load with no new cases of infection. The UNAIDS country director said after assessing Liberia's national strategic response to HIV, she noticed that the coordination level among stakeholders is so weak. She used the occasion to encourage journalists in the country to focus more attention on the campaign to end HIV and AIDS, and to ensure that more people are tested, treated and care for. "This is a call for Liberians to wake up and catch up with the catchup plan," the UN official warned.

 

Read more via All Africa