Leaders assemble in New York tomorrow to end AIDS in Africa, others

• WHO alerts on rise in Yellow fever cases

Towards meeting the target of ending Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Africa and the world by 2030, heads of state and governments, youth, civil society organisations and people living with AIDS and UNAIDS, will from tomorrow June 8 to Friday June 10, 2016, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States (U.S.) assemble to brainstorm on the issues.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in a statement Sunday said: “During this meeting, the heads of State and Government will reaffirm their commitment and intensify their efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, a legacy they wish to leave for present and future generations.

“The meeting comes as a new report issued by UNAIDS shows that the number of people accessing antiretroviral medicines has more than doubled since 2010.”

UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, said: “Over the next five years we have a fragile window of opportunity to shift gear and put the global HIV response firmly on the Fast-Track to end the AIDS epidemic.

“This meeting will be critical to harnessing the momentum we have built and securing global commitment to break the epidemic for good.”

UNAIDS Director, Regional Support Team, West and Central Africa, Dr. Djibril Diallo, said: “Aggressive efforts to combat the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa are key to eradicating the disease.

The meeting, convened every five years by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, in consultation with representatives of member States and UNAIDS is an opportunity for all key actors in the AIDS response to set short- and medium-term bold objectives. This year it will reaffirm the AIDS response as a model for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday raised fresh alert on the rapid increase in Yellow fever cases in Africa.

The WHO, in a statement said since the first yellow fever outbreak was detected in Luanda, Angola late in December 2015, which were confirmed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa on January 19, 2016, and the Institut Pasteur Dakar (IP-D) on January 20 revealed a rapid increase in the number of cases.