Editorial: When schools become incubators for HIV carriers!.

The alarming revelation, which indicated that majority of the affected children are below the age of 14, was made public by the Permanent Secretary of NACC, Joseph Fokam.

This was during the second statutory meeting of the National HIV/AIDS Control Committee for 2024 held in Yaounde. It was presided over by the Minister of Public Health, Dr Malachie Manaouda, who doubles as Chair of NACC.

Attended by representatives from the health sector, civil society, technical and financial partners, as well as religious and community leaders, it emerged that nearly 400,000 people in Cameroon are living with HIV. The statistics, Joseph Fokam noted, represents a 2.7% prevalence rate of the disease in the country.

For the minister, it was a significant achievement for the country in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic. He noted that since 2018, the government of Cameroon has recorded a 26% decrease in new HIV infections and a 16% reduction in AIDS-related deaths, compared to 2022.

The progress, the minister said, has been recognised by international organisations such as the World Health Organisation, WHO, UNAIDS, and PEPFAR.

According to government policy, “the fight against HIV is organised around a national vision, which is to put an end to AIDS as a threat to public health by 2030, by reducing new infections, deaths and stigma associated with HIV".

The country's target is for 95% of people with HIV to know their status and should be on treatment. 

The World Health Organisation has supported Cameroon in the efforts to lower the HIV burden, including through training health workers. 

For instance, in 2022, WHO deployed HIV experts to 36 health facilities in 14 health districts to the country’s East and Littoral Regions.

Around 200 health workers received training on various aspects of HIV care. In addition, more than 20,000 people were screened for HIV. Of the 590 who tested positive, 545 were put on treatment. 

According to WHO, "service providers are now better equipped and more confident in providing treatment”.

As Minister Manaouda has said, keys to achieve success are innovative strategies, including the adoption of a WHO-recommended three-test algorithm for HIV screening and the implementation of the “Paediatric Surge” strategy. 

It includes constantly targeting children living with HIV, an often-overlooked demographic in the global fight against the disease.

Despite the relative progress made, the minister conceded that challenges remain, as such there is need for enhanced efforts to meet the goals for 95% of people living with HIV to know their status, 95% of diagnosed individuals to receive sustained Anti-Retroviral Therapy, ART, and another 95% of those on ART to achieve viral suppression by the end of next year.

The targets, he said, aim to highlight the importance of increasing domestic funding to sustain the fight, especially as international financing is declining.

He called for strong community engagement, particularly among young people who are often at the forefront of new infections.

The minister also commended the AIDS Free Holiday programme, sponsored by the First Lady, Chantal Biya. 

The campaign this year, he said, introduced innovative approaches such as combined screening for HIV and Hepatitis B, ensuring a broader reach and more integrated health services.

According to the minister, the country’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS align with its Vision 2035, which seeks universal access to quality healthcare.

“Ensuring equitable access to quality health services remains a national priority,” Dr Manaouda explained.

The minister has rightly said quality healthcare is government's priority. But does anything like "quality health" exist in Cameroon, when most of them in government hardly consult in local medical facilities? 

Do they not get evacuated abroad as evidence that they do not trust the medical facilities they claim are modern? Would as many as over 1,000 students have been tested positive if a quality health service was in place adequately educating students against unprotected sex, abstention or use of condoms? 

Are some of those tested positive not just as a result of being vulnerable IDPs from the North West and South West Regions, where medical facilities have become a luxury?

If there is any milieu where the prevalence of HIV is high, it shouldn't be in schools. The alarming rate calls for more actions and programmes like that of The First Lady, Chantal Biya, not only during holidays, but throughout the year.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3303 of Wednesday November 27, 2024