World AIDS Day 2021 saw the authorities in the Central African Republic and others involved in the HIV response in the country come together to provide information on HIV, promote HIV prevention, treatment and care and show their solidarity in the face of the pandemic. This year, the President and Head of State of the Central African Republic, and President of the National AIDS Council, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, presided over the ceremony in the commune of Bégoua, near the capital, Bangui.
In line with the Dakar Call to Reinvent the Response to the HIV Pandemic, adopted at the recent High-Level Regional Summit on HIV/AIDS in Western and Central Africa, Mr Touadéra urged the Ministers of Health and Population and of Budget and Finance to ensure that 500 million central African francs is included in the government’s 2022 budget for the HIV response. He also tasked the Prime Minister to report on the actions taken in the HIV response. One of the four pillars of the Dakar Call to Action is to increase national and international resources devoted to HIV in the region by 33% by 2025.
Mr Touadéra also noted the importance of removing financial barriers to accessing health services for people living with HIV.
Bienvenu Gazalima, the President of the Network of People Living with HIV in the Central African Republic (RECAPEV), said that, “Access to antiretroviral drugs has improved, from 12% of all people living with HIV in 2013 to 58% by the end of 2020, but remains one of the lowest in the world. HIV treatment is available in only 10% of the country’s health facilities.”
On the eve of the World AIDS Day commemoration, messages from the Minister of Health and Population and UNAIDS were broadcast on major radio stations and national television. Information on preventing new HIV and COVID-19 infections was given out, especially to young people, in several provinces of the country. With the support of UNAIDS, sensitization caravans criss-crossed the streets of Bangui for several days to spread messages on HIV transmission, HIV prevention, vulnerability to HIV and HIV-related discrimination.
“We are at a crossroads. Leaders have a choice between bold actions and half measures. The transformative approach we need to end AIDS will also protect humanity from future pandemics,” said Marie Engel, UNAIDS Country Director for the Central African Republic, a.i.
