DODOMA: THE Parliamentary Health and HIV/AIDS Committee has called upon the government to intensify efforts and interventions for the disease epidemic control, especially in highly populated areas.
The committee advised special prevention measures for epidemic control in mining, long safari trucks, bus stands, and recreational centres among others where massive awareness training on the need to use preventive gear.
The Committee Chairman, Mr Stanslaus Nyongo made the call while discussing the budget document of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) for the financial year 2024/25.
He said there is a need to come up with preventive strategies and measures to prevent the HIV spread and new infections as friendly and technological condom access points that use tokens.
“There are some areas where they have started using the condom access point that friendly with the best technology, we must look on how best, the facilities will be fixed in various areas, and we have endorsed the TACAIDS budget document,” said Mr Nyongo.
Adding “We need to see that TACAIDS attain its goals effectively with efficiency so that the public can have a conducive environment that is free from HIV infections, whereas the community will have no fear,” He commended the Prime Minister’s Office, Policy, Parliament and Coordination for ensuring they keep close monitoring of TACAIDS joint efforts to attain zero HIV infection. He added that the country’s economy depends more on a healthy workforce whereas without it they cannot attain economic growth if Tanzanians are not healthy.
“Tanzania has three goals to achieve by 2030, which are to eradicate new infections (Zero new infection), to eradicate AIDS-related deaths (Zero AIDS deaths) and to eradicate stigma (zero stigmas), we are happy with the trend,” said Mr Nyongo.
Adding “We are doing well as a country because as we can see we have made great strides in these three goals; I encourage the public to continue working together to ensure that we are healthy and achieve the goals of a better economy as well as achieve the goals of completely eradicating AIDS by 2030,”.
On her part, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Policy, Parliament and Coordination told the committee that the government is conducting a good number of awareness programmes to educate the public on the need to go for HIV tests to know their status, especially men whose response is still low.
Minister Mhagama said they are working closely with the National Council of People Living with HIV in Tanzania (NACOPHA), and religious and community leaders to educate the public against stigma to people living with HIV.