During a press conference on January 26th, 2023, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) commemorated it’s impact and accomplishment in the past twenty years. PEPFAR together with it’s partners converged at the US Embassy in Yaounde where they had a retrospect on the progress made and the possibility of attaining higher heights.
The event opened with a speech from the US Ambassador to Cameroon Christopher John Lamora who said PEPFAR is important to the US Embassy because in twenty years, the two have worked in unison saving millions of lives. Mentioning PEPFAR’s achievement in Cameroon, he said “since 2012, we have contributed 320 billion francs CFA to Cameroon in support of HIV/AIDS programs in Cameron… We are very proud of what we have been able to do and Cameroon should be proud of what Cameroon has already accomplished in the fight against HIV and AIDS”
PHOTO: His Excellency Christopher John Lamora
In a power point presentation, the Acting Country Director of the Center for Disease Control in Cameroon Doctor Clement Ndongmo listed key milestone of PEPFAR in twenty years. He said PEPFAR has saved twenty five million lives, prevented millions of HIV infections and accelerated progress towards controlling the global HIV/AIDS pandemic in more than fifty countries. He went on to say; the military, orphans and vulnerable children and the general population have benefitted from the activities of PEPFAR.
Dr Ndongmo pointed out that PEPFRAR supports 392 labs in Cameroon. He said PEPFAR has in the past years offered capacity building workshop for clinical IPs, PEPFAR has also carried out community outreach and sensitization through which diseases have been prevented.
PHOTO:Dr Clement Ndongmo, Acting Country Director, CDC Cameroon granting interview to press
The celebration continued with a question and answer session with the press. The main questions from the press revolved around the possibility of getting a vaccine for prevention of HIV/AIDS, the possibility of ending the disease by 2030 and the need to enforce a holistic approach to eradicate HIV/AIDS. To these questions, PEPFAR together with it’s partners said there is not yet a vaccine for HIV AIDS. They however said more sensitization on the available prevention, control and management scheme is required to end HIV/AIDS by 2030, meanwhile science needs to continue evolving. They stressed that a minimum rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence can be attained by 2030 if seriopositve patients continue to take drugs, while uninfected persons follow preventive measures which would go a long way to suppress the viral load.
Various leaders of organisations having benefitted from PEPFAR, commended the works done by PEPFAR in funding and capacity building. One of these were the Executive Director of RECAP Plus Cameroon who acknowledged PEPFAR for enabling his organisation to carry out activities for the fight and prevention of HIV/AIDS in 147 heath districts over about 385 health facilities, sensitize journalists on facts about HIV/AIDS and sensitized infected and uninfected persons in prevention and treatment of the virus which has helped to reduce viral load.
Having celebrated twenty years of PEPFAR with twelve years existence in Cameroon, stakeholders took the commitment to implement measures for an end to HIV/AIDS by 2030.
By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum
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