The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), says Africa has a long way to go in eliminating HIV. It says while South Africa’s HIV/AIDS response is considered one of the best in the world, the impact may not be great because of the high number of people living with HIV in the country.
UNICEF has revealed this at a media briefing in Johannesburg ahead of World AIDS Day on Sunday.
New York-based UNICEF’s Chief of HIV/AIDS, Doctor Chewe Luo, has commended South Africa for its efforts, but says more needs to be done to fight the pandemic.
“South Africa is leading whether you look at mother to child transmission, whether you look at treatment access for children but in SA even if 5% is not accessing because of your prevalence and your population it translates to a high number of new HIV infections in children. So if I have to advice there has to be much more concerted action around primary prevention in women and adolescent girls in SA.”
