adminHerald Reporter
Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa has commended the National Aids Council for its work and has urged it to remain focused on its co-ordination role.
He said this in a meeting with the NAC board last week. “The National Aids Council has made significant progress and has seen the decline of new HIV infections in the last few years. That is notable, but you need not rest as more still has to be achieved. The board must tell me its focus and strategy in line with the new World Health Organisation ART guidelines,” Dr Parirenyatwa said.
NAC board chair Mr David Mutambara said as much as the country needed to keep people living with HIV healthy and alive longer, it was also vital that those who were negative remained so.
“This means awareness and strengthening prevention programmes. As we have been successful in keeping people living with HIV alive, the cancers are now more visible. HIV remains a driver of most of the cancers for example cervical cancer in women, Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and even some lung cancers show a co-relation. So our thrust must be refocused on these.”
Present at the meeting were Health Deputy Minister Dr Paul Chimedza, Dr Tsitsi Mutasa-Apollo, the deputy director HIV/STIs in the ministry and acting permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Gibson Mhlanga.
Online Reporter