St. Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew attended a high-level side event, hosted by UNAIDS. At the 79th United Nations General Assembly, he went as a guest speaker and issued a passionate call for revitalising the multilateral cooperation to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
PM Drew highlighted the commitment of the federation to the global fight against HIV/AIDS and shared the key achievements of the National HIV/AIDS programme, introduced by the country.
This included the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in the year 2017, as a status that has been maintained since then.
Prime Minister Dr. Drew considered this and said that on Tuesday, he joined a distinguished panel of speakers at a high-level side event hosted by UNAIDS. The event was mainly focused on the theme ‘Revitalised Multilateralism: Recommitting to Ending AIDS Together.’
Drew expressed that the world must continue its effort against HIV/AIDS. He stated that they have seen many positive gains through the collaborative international efforts. However, it is not the time to take the feet off the pedal.
As per PM Drew, St. Kitts and Nevis is among the nations, who have achieved the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. He mentioned that to this end he wanted to thank the healthcare workers, stakeholders and the regional and international partners, who have all worked to achieve the most notable result.
UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Since the first case of the HIV was reported, 78 million people got infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS-related to illnesses.
With the beginning of the operations, UNAIDS has led an inspired global, regional, national and local leadership, innovation and partnership to ultimately consign HIV to history.
UNAIDS is a problem-solver and places people living with HIV and the ones who are affected by the virus at the decision-making table along with the centre of designing, delivering and monitoring the AIDS response.
The charts for countries and communities to get on the Fast-Track to end AIDS and is a bold advocate to address the legal and policy barrier to the AIDS response.
Notably, UNAIDS provides the strategic direction, advocacy, coordination and technical support that needs to catalyse and connect leadership from government’s private sector and communities to deliver life-saving HIV services.