UNICEF Attributes Zambia’s Gains in AIDS Fight to Increased ART. 11/4/10
UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman has attributed the improvement Zambia had recorded in the fight against HIV/AIDS to increased access to treatment which was not available in the past.
By Agness Changala
11 April 2010
UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman has attributed the improvement Zambia had recorded in the fight against HIV/AIDS to increased access to treatment which was not available in the past.
Addressing the media in Lusaka on Friday, Veneman said there was need for more people to have the opportunity to get tested and know their status. Veneman said Zambia had also made progress in putting the face of the child on the AIDS pandemic.
Veneman further said malnutrition seemed to be a growing problem in Zambia.
She said lack of access to food and knowledge about good feeding practices on the part of parents and caregivers in terms of the appropriate combination of nutrients that children needed was a contributing factor.
Veneman said if a child had suffered from malaria, measles or pneumonia and was also malnourished, they were more likely to die from malnutrition.
Veneman said in Zambia, the estimated number of under five deaths where a contributing cause is malnutrition, is estimated at 52 per cent.
And Veneman said during her meeting with health minister Kapembwa Simbao, she learnt that Lusaka has recorded an increase in measles breakout with 60 cases in the last 10 days compared to 20 cases which were reported countrywide last year.
She said the problem of measles was regional adding that it needed much focus from the governments and cooperating partners to be addressed.
On a two-day trip to Zambia, Veneman advocated for greater HIV and AIDS awareness and for scaling-up voluntary testing.
Veneman met Dr Kenneth David Kaunda, who has actively led Zambia in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“President Kaunda has led by example,” said Veneman. “His unwavering commitment in leading the fight against HIV and AIDS is an inspiration to us all.”
During the meeting, Dr Kaunda praised the work of the United Nations and stressed the importance of working together to improve the lives of women and children.
“HIV and AIDS is the most devastating health crisis of our time,” said Dr Kaunda. “Ignorance, illiteracy and poverty were major contributing factors to the spread of the disease. Through poverty alleviation and education, we can win the war against HIV and AIDS.