World AIDS Day 2023: Building community support for the fight against HIV

World AIDS Day 2023: Building community support for the fight against HIV
Extract from the article: Every 01 December, the world celebrates World AIDS Day (WAD). This year, 2023, the theme of the celebrations is: « Entrusting leadership to communities ». Togo is commemorating the day under the banner of this global theme, which sends out a strong m

Every 01 December, the world celebrates World AIDS Day (WAD). This year, 2023, the theme of the celebrations is: « Entrusting leadership to communities ». Togo is commemorating the day under the banner of this global theme, which sends out a strong message with a view to combining efforts to put an end to AIDS by 2030. The aim is to rally support and unleash the full potential of community leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Togo. The activities on the 2023 agenda were unveiled on Tuesday 28 November 2023 by Professor Vincent Pitché, National Coordinator of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (SP/CNLS-IST). The announcement was made at a press conference held in Lomé. The meeting was attended by Dr Eric Verschueren, Country Director of UNAIDS, Pr Anoumou Dagnra, National Coordinator of the PNLS-IST, and the President of the national platform of CSOs/HIV, Simplice Anato.

The theme of the 2023 World AIDS Day, "Entrusting leadership to communities", is a call for community ownership of the fight against HIV in order to put in place sustainable and effective systems. Change does not depend on a moment in time, but on a combined movement that must be sustained over time.This theme focuses not only on community organisations of people living with HIV, at risk or affected by the virus, who are on the front line, but also on civil society and decision-makers at all levels of society.

« This theme consists of highlighting communities, in particular civil society in all its diversity, whether it be communities at village level, religious communities or civil society at organisational level.Over the years, civil society has played a very important role, which is why it was important at international level to highlight and reaffirm their central role in the fight against HIV, so that by 2030 we can put an end to AIDS », explained Prof Vincent Pitché, National Coordinator of SP/CNLS-IST.

The main activities planned as part of the celebrations include the launch by community players at the decentralised level in Tchamba of a national screening week, awareness-raising campaigns in the field in all the health regions to promote good practices, particularly prevention, and the distribution of condoms to prevent young people from becoming infected.There will also be media and social networking campaigns aimed at young people. These activities, concentrated at community level in Tchamba (in the central region), will have ramifications throughout the country.

Role of communities

The leadership roles of communities must be at the heart of all HIV plans and programmes, as well as their drafting, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and analysis.

Communities play an essential role in connecting people with HIV services and in linking key populations most affected by HIV with health services, HIV services and support services.  Innovation and community determination improve access and quality of services.There is an urgent need to fully support the work of communities and eliminate the obstacles that stand in their way. « Underfunding of community initiatives means that many are struggling to continue or are prevented from expanding. There has been an unprecedented decline in financial commitments to community organisations, and this is costing lives. Civil society and human rights repression of people from marginalised communities is hampering progress in HIV prevention and treatment services, jeopardising the fight against AIDS. Laws and policies that are prejudicial to people from these populations at risk of contracting HIV threaten the lives of community-based activities that try to provide HIV services to them », emphasised Dr Eric Verschueren.

The decision to entrust part of the management of the health sector to the community sector will certainly make it possible in the years to come to fill the gaps by increasing domestic funding for the AIDS response, raising awareness of the impact of HIV on people's lives, eradicating stigma and discrimination, and improving the quality of life of people living with HIV.

Togo has already adopted this approach in its 2023-2026 national strategic plan to combat AIDS.Impact 3 of this document calls for the creation of a « social, political and legal environment" » that is « conducive to access to and continued use of HIV services for key populations and PLHIV ». This provision is in line with the national priorities set out in the National Development Plan (NDP), Axis 3 of which aims to « consolidate social development and strengthen mechanisms for inclusion ».

In Togo, the activities carried out during the second year of implementation of the NSP 2021-2025 have resulted in an HIV prevalence rate of 1.7%, i.e. 110,000 people living with HIV and 355,802 people tested.

William O.

Author
santé éducation
Editor
Abel OZIH

Every 01 December, the world celebrates World AIDS Day (WAD). This year, 2023, the theme of the celebrations is: « Entrusting leadership to communities ». Togo is commemorating the day under the banner of this global theme, which sends out a strong m

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