As Tanzania is set to join other countries to mark the World's AIDS day, the country has recorded a 50 percent decrease in the number of deaths related to the disease. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office, (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disability), Jenista Mhagama said the decrease is due to the number of interventions that have been put up by stakeholders.
Moreover, she said, statistics show that Tanzania is doing well in dealing with new infections from mother to child that have gone down to 7 percent in 2020 compared to 18 percent in 2010. On the number of deaths caused by HIV / AIDS, Ms. Mhagama said data showed that there were 64,000 deaths in 2010 but the number dropped to 32,000 in 2020. Moreover, she said, a number of awareness campaigns and other interventions have also helped to lower new infections among adults from 110,000 in 2010 to 68,000 last year.
The Minister also said that the pace of HIV testing stood at 83 percent in 2019 from their estimates of 61 percent while the use of ARV among the patients was 98 percent in 2019 compared to the 95 percent in 2016. Ms. Mhagama said according to the statistics it is clear that Tanzania is doing well in dealing with HIV interventions, saying they will put up a number of measures to ensure they address the situation for the better.
She further said that, in ensuring that the country is free of HIV / AIDS come 2030, the government has a number of strategies to prevent new infections especially among youth with special focus to adolescent girls and boys between 15 and 24 years. She outlined other interventions to mobilise free HIV testing to a number of groups which are vulnerable as well as the use of ARV to fishermen, long distance drivers, miners and sexual workers.
Minister Mhagama said awareness is ongoing to educate the communities to get away from stigmatization. She said President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been lined up as chief guest during the World Aids Day scheduled for December 1, whereas a number of activities are scheduled to start on November 24 with a walk to mobilise funds for the Tanzania Aids Fund.
On his part, Director of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS), Dr. Leonard Maboko said they are done with preparations for the event under the theme "Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone's Voice". Chairperson of National Council of People Living with HIV (NACOPHA), Leticia Mourice thanked the government for coming up with an intervention of COVID-19 vaccine to people living with HIV.