Feature story

President of Mozambique engages on HIV

31 July 2013

After appointing the First Lady of Mozambique as a Patron of the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive, UNAIDS Executive Director met with the President of Mozambique Armando Guebuza.

In recent years, the Government of Mozambique has made great strides in its response to HIV. Improvements in the country’s primary health care system have been made to meet the growing demand for HIV treatment, care and services; three quarters of pregnant women living with HIV have access to medicines to prevent transmitting the virus to their children; and new infections among children were reduced by 46% from 2009 to 2012.

Despite progress, Mozambique continues to have one of the highest rates of new HIV infections in the world and bottlenecks continue to hamper Mozambique’s response. For example, just 28% of children in need of treatment are receiving it in Mozambique.

Quotes

We are aware of the challenges in terms of capacity and human resources. Integration of HIV response in health services, focusing in the most affected areas and populations, engagement of communities and innovation in service delivery will make the difference and produce the results.

Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director