Change Inefficient HIV Interventions

The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has launched its fourth National HIV/AIDS Research Conference (NHARCON) 2018 with a call for a rethink and change of HIV/AIDS prevention interventions that are not working.

Professor Isabella Quakyi, an Immunologists and Chairperson of the NHARCON Committee said, reconsidering and making efforts to change ineffective service delivery modules would enhance best practices to end the AIDS epidemic.

According to her, a collective and a country-led effort is required to scale up HIV prevention and treatment services as part of fast-tracking a comprehensive response to meet global and national targets to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

“We must increase efforts and provide necessary national resources both technical and financial to ensure rapid scale up treatment and existence HIV prevention intervention,” Prof. Qwakyi noted.

Speaking at the opening of the conference in Accra, Prof. Qwakyi stated that there was the need to reflect on innovative ways of generating and mobilising adequate resources in order to fill the financial gabs while addressing the stigmatisation and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Chairperson said the country must we eschew complacency―the most single evil that could easily reverse the gains made so far in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“Without more domestic investment and international technical assistance, we cannot push faster the 90-90-90 fast-track targets to achieve the epidemic control by 2020,” she said.

NHARCON 2018

The conference which on the theme― “Ending AIDS – Rethinking Practices for the Maximum Impact” is the fourth since its inception expected to host between 500 and 800 local and international participants.

The 4-day conference is scheduled to start from the 8th to the 11th of May next year and would serve as a platform to share ideas and support the implementation of the current HIVAIDS Strategic plan 2016-2020.

It forms part of GAC’s mandate to disseminate and share HIV/AIDS Strategic information with the scientific community, academia, policy makers and other stakeholders as well as partners in the implementation of the national response.

Source: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]