A recent release by the United Nation (UN) about the dreaded disease, HIV/AIDS indicates that due to some drastic measures taken by some African countries, the disease spread reduced to 76% in children since 2009 and has sustained the momentum.
The Report further indicates that Ghana is leading in this unprecedented move to ensure the continuation for safety and preservation of its generation, followed by other six Sub-Saharan African countries Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia
“With a 76% decline since 2009, Ghana showed the greatest decline in the rate of new infections among children,? the report stated, and further evinced that the country has really scaled the number of children accessing treatment from 2009 to 2012.
“…seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa?Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia?have reduced new HIV infections among children by 50% since 2009,?
South Africa which in previous years were among the African countries that were said be ferociously weighed by HIV/AIDS have now turned a new leaf. This is very commendable.
But in a swift turn of event, the UN report highlighted a staggering increase in the HIV report in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries. It stated that Nigeria has a stable increase of the infection from 2009 to 2012 which the report covers. It indicates that nearly 60,000 cases of infection on children alone were reported in Nigeria by 2012.
Safe Action International (SAI) wishes to commend Ghana and the other six African countries which have devoted vast resources and energy in tackling the menace and the number one world most dreaded disease. We call on these countries to not only maintain the tempo but scale it up and serve as a template for other countries to emulate.
The UN report has shown that not only gloomy report that comes from the Sub-Saharan countries which paints the region as living in the Dark Age can find its way into the global dashboard, but such remarkably outstanding and positive news from the region could also play its way through the global arena is not only laudable but portrays the sincerity on the part of the organization.
Non-the-less, it will not be out of place for other African countries who could not perform well in this global examination of putting the health of citizenry top in the priority list of its annual budgets and programs to take a cue from these seven African countries.
Given HIV/AIDS pandemic is a dreaded scourge we must all fight against with all amount of sincerity, therefore no nation that has its growth, development and citizens at heart should trifle with it.
