Executive Director in the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), Ben Nangombe, has said Namibia has been accorded an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B.

During the joint mission meeting on the validation process of Namibia’s path to the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B Virus here on Monday, Nangombe said Namibia achieved the 95-95-95 fast track targets in 2022.

Nangombe said the ministry is fully committed to the goal of attaining zero new HIV infections and that the government continues to invest in the HIV and Aids response to sustain the tremendous progress made in scaling up HIV service to ensure easy and equitable access to comprehensive, high quality treatment and prevention services for all Namibians.

“Namibia has made significant strides in improving prevention of mother-to-child transmissions indicators, so much so that Namibia is being assessed to be one of the next countries in the African region to be certified for being on the path to triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of the three infections,” Nangombe said.

At the same occasion, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Dr Mary Brantuo, congratulated the MoHSS on this very laudable milestone.

The routine programme data indicates that Namibia is on the path to eliminating mother-to-child HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B virus, and has met the path to elimination target for several key indicators,” Brantuo said.

“We are particularly pleased to see the initial enthusiasm and passion has not waned, and you remained as determined as ever to move with this inspiration to eliminate mother-to-child transmission not only for HIV and syphilis, but also for hepatitis B,” Brantuo stated.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency