Malawi on track to end Aids by 2030

By Emmanuel Simpokolwe:

Co-chairperson for the Malawi Partnership Forum (MPF) on HIV/Aids, Mara Kumbweza Banda, has said the country is on track to end Aids as a public health threat by 2030.

Kumbweza Banda said this in Lilongwe on Thursday during the opening of the 69th MPF session.

According to Kumbweza Banda, the country has registered gains in the response and the performance under the 2025 UNAids treatment targets, commonly known as 95:95:95.

“The 2024 HIV estimates indicate that our performance is at 95:95:95. The HIV prevalence continues to drop and the estimates show that it is at 6.7 percent,” she said.

She, however, said the HIV incidence rates continued to be high among adolescent girls and young women aged between 20 and 29 years and key populations.

On her part, National Aids Commission Chief Executive Officer Beatrice Matanje said there were a number of interventions that young people could choose to prevent HIV.

“And we do know that these are vulnerable populations because a lot of them, or most of them, may be at risk because of other social vulnerabilities,” she said.

She said they also have a higher education institutions programming for HIV initiative, where they look at risks that students face.

“We make sure that there is a choice on methods for prevention. Abstinence is a choice, but if they can’t abstain, condomising is another choice. If they can’t condomise, then pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure prophylaxis can serve the purpose,” she said.

Parliamentary Committee on Health representative Victor Musowa said lawmakers were committed to working with stakeholders on issues pertaining to the HIV fight.

“That way, come 2030, the country will have achieved its goals,” she said.