By Paul Lamin in Kenema
The Director General of the National AIDS Secretariat (NAS), Abdul Rahman Sesay has said in Kenema that there are over twenty thousand (20,000) Sierra Leoneans out there that do not know their HIV status in Sierra Leone.
The Director General made this statement on Wednesday, 6th September, 2023 at the District Council Auditorium in Kenema on the occasion of NETHIPS Annual General Meeting (AGM).
He said as a parent body, the National AIDS Secretariat is charged with the responsibility to coordinate all HIV response programs across the country and as Director General for NAS he was in Kenema to lend support to the Network of HIV Positives in Sierra Leone (NETHIPS) in their Annual General Meeting (AGM).
He said as keynote speaker for this year’s AGM, he wants to applaud the effort of NETHIPS as umbrella organisation for People Living with HIV for the care and support given to People Living with HIV (PLHIV) over the years which he describes as a job well done.
Director General, Mr. Abdul Rahman Sesay said he was very fascinated by the theme of the AGM “Adapting to a changing context”.
He said adapting to the concept of change for people living with the disease is also very key in the fight against HIV. He said that acceptance of one’s status as PLHIVs will increase their chances of survival and also induce positive mental attitudes toward oneself.
The Director General said knowing and accepting your problem will help you adapt and proffer better solutions to such problems. The Director General of NAS also spoke about the challenges in the fight against HIV & AIDS.
He said stigma and discrimination, capacity building and drug adherence remain key challenges in the fight.
He cited the lack of willingness for HIV testing as some of the issues that are responsible for the spread of the disease.
Mr Abdul Rahman Sesay encouraged Sierra Leoneans to come out and do their test for free.
He furthered that the National AIDS Secretariat is working in close collaboration with the judiciary to ensure that people who stigmatise and discriminate against HIV positive persons are prosecuted according to the laws of Sierra Leone.
The Executive Director on NETHIPS which is the umbrella organisation for organisations that provide services for people living with HIV, Mr Idrissa Songo said that the purpose of the meeting in Kenema was to receive the Programmatic Report and Financial Statements of NETHIPS; receive a presentation from the Executive Director on the previous year’s activities and plans for the coming year; discuss the vacant position of the National Coordinator, which is currently temporarily filled, the way forward, and receive statements from partners and key stakeholders.
Mr Idrissa Songo said the meeting is held annually across the country on a rotational basis and this year it happens to be in Kenema for two days from 6th-7th September 2023.
The Director of NETHIPS also reiterated that the Theme “Adapting to a changing Context” was carefully chosen because things are changing every day and therefore people also need to adapt to those changes or else they can be taken unaware by those changing trends of events with devastating consequences.
The NETHIPS Executive Director further stated that it was always very important that the organisation’s members to meet to discuss changes that positively or negatively affect the running of their organisation.
He noted some of the challenges of the HIV response which range from stock out of drugs, reagents for viral load, and testing kits among others.
He said the global target for HIV response is to reach out to 95% of people living with HIV to know their HIV status; among those who know their HIV status, 95% should be put on treatment; and of those on treatment, 95% of them should be virally suppressed.
He was quick to state that the Minister of Health has charged them to go for 98-98-98 in place of 95-95-95. He said to achieve this a number of issues should be addressed by NAS and partners including the availability of drugs, test kits, reagents, etc.
He concluded that the de-motivating factor in HIV response at this point in time is the non-availability of drugs to suppress the virus and reduce the viral load at all times.
The chairman of Kenema District Council Mohamed Amadu Sesay who chaired the Annual General Meeting called on donors and well-meaning Sierra Leoneans to support NETHIPS in fighting against HIV &AIDS. He stressed that as a country, we should strive to join NETHIPS to succeed in mitigating the negative impact of HIV and that as citizens, we should believe that the interest of the country should supersede individual interests.
He encouraged Sierra Leoneans to ignore tribalism, regionalism, political intolerance in all we do especially in our collective effort to join NETHIPS who have done so much to positively respond to HIV & AIDS.
He furthered that, the issue of stigmatisation of people living with HIV is something that the law stands to condemn and therefore those in the habit of stigmatising the people living with HIV have to stop. He said until one’s health status is known they cannot be said to be free from the virus. He assured the leadership of NETHIPS that as local council, they will continue to work with NETHIPS at district level.
The Chiefdom Speaker of Nongowa Chiefdom, who represented the Paramount Chief, welcomed all participants and partners to Kenema City.
The Programme Country Manager, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Mrs Miata Kai-Samba said that the theme for the AGM which is “Adapting to a changing context” is very appropriate and needs collective commitment.
She stressed that changes can come as a result of leadership in an organisation or the present difficulties face financially, but as the AGM began change can be possible by networking and supporting one another as change comes when one learns to accept change individually or as an organisation as a natural part of life. Saying that accepting that adapting to change is natural means one needs to be reminded and focused on something that one believes that has controlled it.
She appealed to NETHIPS membership to maintain positive attitudes regardless of the challenges and put exception to succeed due the change that occurs and search for new ideas and innovative measures.
She also appealed to them to reach out to others and share experiences ‘despite a lot is happening’ and shift their mindsets for what cannot be achieved, while concentrating on things that can be achieved will make them happier people.
Dr Basil Uguge who is the Team Lead Global Reach II project at Jhpiego appreciated NETHIPS for their efforts and commitment towards working with them as their vision and mission is aligned with Jhpiego’s global works and international standard for persons living with HIV. He said that the network has greater roles to play if talking about achieving the 98-98-98 target of HIV, adding that this is possible when making sure that people do not die of HIV and no new infection comes up, which is a big change.
Dr Basil stated that, there should be accountability from both NETHIPS and partners and to embrace innovation, as by 2030 HIV will no longer be considered as an epidemic. He stressed that NETHIPS should hold partners accountable for what they propose to do and should be able to sit at the table as equal partners to discussion partners’ contributions to the HIV response. He further stressed his organisation’s commitment to continue to work with NETHIPS and asked them to come up with innovative ideas which they will support.
Rev Alimamay Kargbo, the board Chairman of NETHIPS, revealed that as someone who lived in Kenema for 16 years he was delight with Kenema hosting the AGM in 2023. He said that the theme of the AGM underscores NETHIPS’ commitment to staying resilient amidst the global economic challenges.
He stressed that the board will continue to be committed to supporting NETHIPS and other partners in making sure that the global target of ending AIDS by 2030 is actualised.