City of Joburg ‘at the frontline’ to fight HIV, TB and STIs
JOBURG – Dr Mpho Phalatse points out how we can achieve the fast-track city targets before 2020 ...
Dr Mpho Phalatse, a member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development in the City of Joburg said, “As cities we are at the frontline of turning the tide against HIV, TB and STIs and the success of reaching epidemic control and ending AIDS as an epidemic depends squarely on our shoulders. It is first our responsibility.”
Representatives from 10 cities, who are committed to ending AIDS as an epidemic were brought together by the Fast Track City Network workshop. It was held at the Quartermain Hotel in Morningside, Sandton and it extended from 31 October until 1 November.
The meeting was attended by a delegation from the AIDS Secretariat. The cities who were brought together were Jakarta, Maputo, Windhoek, Lusaka, Nairobi, Kinshasa, Yaoundé, Kigali, eThekwini and Johannesburg.
Phalatse joined the meeting on the last day and took the opportunity to thank everyone. She said that the meeting presented an opportunity for everyone there to share what they had been doing during the first year and how they would contribute to the fast-track targets.
During the African Fast-Track cities meeting, that was held in 2016, mayors from various cities committed to the Paris declaration by achieving the 90-90-90 and other sustainable goals target by 2020.
Under the Fast-Track Cities Paris Declaration, cities have been called to fast-track the AIDS response by 2020 by front-loading investments and stepping up the pace of service delivery; scaling up HIV services, including for prevention, treatment and care, free from stigma and discrimination.
The gathering became a success through the funding from The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) and (USAID) United States Agency for International Development.
During the meeting, Phalatse said that cities have a common understanding of the important role it had in putting their countries on the path to reaching their 90-90-90 treatment, and the elimination of stigma and discrimination.
“Stigma and discrimination remain a barrier to accessing services and cities have an opportunity to overcome these barriers if they engage law enforcement, provide inputs towards overcoming discriminatory laws and practices by advocating for access to quality health services as a universal right for all,” Phalatse said.
She said the world would not achieve the set targets without the involvement of the broader community.
Also check out:
Fast Track City Network to end Aids hosted in Sandton
High numbers of people dying from AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
