Top UN Official Calls For Boost In Aids Spending In Togo

New York, Feb 23 2012 6:10PM
A top United Nations official called for an increase on national spending on HIV/AIDS in Togo, noting that most of the country’s funding to combat and prevent the disease comes from external sources.

“We cannot put a person on antiretroviral treatment for 30 years and depend on external aid to cover the bill,” said Executive Director of the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Michel Sidibé during a meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Gilbert Houngbo in Lomé, Togo’s capital city. “We need an African solution,” he said.

Togo currently relies on external sources of finance for more than 80 per cent of its HIV response programmes.

Mr. Sidibé emphasized that HIV resources in the country should be prioritized for populations at higher risk of HIV infection, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men. He stressed that to identify and target these groups, a comprehensive understanding of the national epidemic was vitally important.

During the meeting, which was held on Tuesday, Mr. Sidibé congratulated the leadership of Togo for progress in the national HIV response.

According to Government figures, knowledge on HIV prevention and transmission among the population is at 80 per cent, and access to antiretroviral treatment has more than doubled in the past four years with more than 25,000 now receiving medical care.

However, Mr. Sidibé expressed concern that over half of pregnant women in Togo lack access to services that prevent HIV transmission from mother to child and urged the country’s authorities to build on previous gains to ensure widespread access to HIV treatment and prevention methods for women.

Mr. Houngbo expressed his commitment to achieving the targets set in the 2011 Political Declaration on AIDS, and echoed Mr. Sidibé’s call for increased domestic spending.

Mr Sidibé’s visit to Lomé was part of a four-country mission to Togo, Benin, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Feb 23 2012 6:10PM
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