MILESTONE: Zim attains 95-95-95 HIV targets

ZIMBABWE has reached the UNAIDS set 95-95-95 HIV targets, securing a place in the list of other Southern African countries such as Botswana that have attained the goal.

By Kudakwashe Pembere

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS aims for HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression rates to be 95%–95%–95% by 2025.

Addressing the press at a National AIDS Council (NAC) media workshop, Ministry of Health and Child Care National ART coordinator Dr Chiedza Mupanduki said according to their June 2022 figures on HIV show Zimbabwe realised the 95-95-95 target to stand at 96-97-95.

We have made significant progress as a country. We are currently at 96percent. All of our patients, 96 percent of them know their status. And those who know their status, 97 percent of them are on treatment. And those who are on treatment, 95 percent of them are virally suppressed. So it means that the medication they are taking is working to suppress HIV,” she said.

She explained that while last year’s figures showed Zimbabwe was on track to attain a 95 percent on viral suppression with 93 percent of those on ART having the HIV suppressed, these figures where recorded as of June this year. Dr Mupanduki while explaining what the 95-95-95 said there are those in denial who refuse to get tested.

“About our progress towards the 95-95-95. On this, we are saying 95 percent of people living with HIV should know their status. There are people out there living with HIV but do not know they have HIV. Some are in denial, some never tested. They think they don’t have HIV. They never tested. We want 95 percent of people living with HIV to know their status. The second 95 is that 95 percent who know their status to be on treatment and 95 percent of those on treatment should know their status,” she said.

She said in the 95-95-95, men were lagging behind compared to women. According to the UNAIDS, Zimbabwe last year had 91 percent of people living with HIV on ART while 85 percent of the people on treatment had viral suppression.

In 2020, Zimbabwe had the sixth-highest HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa, with 1.3 million persons aged 15 – 64 years living with HIV. The country made substantial progress towards achieving UNAIDS targets of 90-90-90 by 2020, with 86.8% of people living with HIV diagnosed, 97% of those diagnosed on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90.3% of those on ART virally suppressed.

In December 2020, UNAIDS released a new set of ambitious targets calling for 95% of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 95% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy to have viral suppression by 2025. Adopted by United Nations Member states in June 2021 as part of the new Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, these targets, combined with ambitious primary prevention targets and focused attention to supporting enablers, aim to bridge inequalities in treatment coverage and outcomes and accelerate HIV incidence reductions by focusing on progress in all sub-populations, age groups and geographic settings.

At the International AIDS Confence in Montreal, Canada this year, Botswana announced that it had achieved the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets for people with HIV.

Other countries have to attained the 90-90-90 targets where by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV in these countries are aware of their HIV status, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection have received sustained antiretroviral therapy. and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy have since had their viral load suppressed. Countries that attained the 90-90-90 include Rwanda, Qatar, Botswana, Slovenia, Uganda and Malawi.

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