Mauritius commemorates World Aids Day
Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritius commemorated on Wednesday World Aids Day with testing and counselling through a mobile caravan that would travel around the country to encourage more people to come forward to be tested.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister of Health and Wellness, Kailesh Jagutpal, said Mauritius responded rapidly to HIV through the development of comprehensive plans to contain and prevent the infection.
“Even with lockdowns due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there were some 104,000 screening tests around the island,” he said.
He said the “government will continue to ensure that people receive treatment against HIV/AIDS through the mobile caravan, including providing them with medicines and transport allowance, among others.”
The minister emphasized that it was imperative to fight stigma and taboo associated with HIV/AIDS through the sharing of information and knowledge among the whole population.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Mauritius, Dr. Laurent Musango, recalled that despite the objective of World AIDS Day 2021 to make treatment for HIV/AIDS accessible to everyone, it was noted that only 76 per cent of the positive population had access to treatment.
“Efforts should be made to achieve universal access and eliminate the epidemic, especially since the theme this year is to end the HIV epidemic,” he emphasized.
According to him, reports showed that new HIV/AIDS infections were occurring among teenagers aged 16 to 19 years old, in particular young girls, who were out of school.
He appealed for screening tests, targeting these teenagers, in remote areas, thus ensuring that there was no new infection.
The Acting National AIDS Coordinator, Dr. Mungala Davi Soyjaudah, recalled that while HIV treatment and testing were available, the challenge remained to better inform and educate the public and direct them to proper treatment centres according to their test results, underlying that the ministry had a plan to eliminate the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.
“In a bid to make HIV testing more convenient, the Ministry has adopted a policy of going towards people rather than waiting for them to come to hospitals for testing and counselling, hence, the presence of this mobile caravan,” she observed.
-0-PANA NA/RA 1Dec2021
