World AIDS Day In Cameroon 2009

By Priscile Mouto, COGESID
The World AIDS Day in Cameroon was commemorated under the patronage of Chantal Biya, UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Social inclusion. COGESID Bonamikano joined Cameroon Link to champion the youth initiative in Douala after the enthusiastic crowd of students, people living with HIV, people vulnerable to HIV, national and international dignitaries jammed the Multi-purpose sports complex in the launching in Yaounde.
Different from other years, the population yelled and danced to popular “Merci” music following the government’s announcement that the prevalence rate dropped to 5.1% as against 5.5% in 2004. The 22nd edition of World AIDS Day was commemorated with hope.
From all indications, there was hope in the horizon as the struggle against HIV/AIDS continues. The population could not remain indifferent to the soul touching and electrifying campaign songs from popular musicians including Majoie Ayi, Nono Flavie, Billy Jackson, Narc6 Pryze, Richard Kings and Tribute Sisters who went on stage.
As the songs blew the trumpets of hope, the audience danced, clapped and screamed in happiness, especially as the theme of the commemoration was “I am in full possession of my rights, stop AIDS, keep the promise”.
The President of the National AIDS Control Committee, Andre Mama Fouda, who is also the Minister of Public Health said, Cameroonians have a reason to feast because recent reports from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS indicate a reduction in new HIV infections. He added that AIDS is no longer similar to death as it was the case before. He continued that researchers tell us, HIV is an infection that can handled like all others.
Minister Mama Fouda, however, urged the youths to remain faithful to one partner and practice safe sex through the correct usage of the male and female condoms. The Coordinator of the United Nations system in Cameroon, Thierry Mertens lauded Cameroon’s efforts in topping the position of rendering HIV treatment accessible to those in need at no cost. He invited Cameroon to put more efforts on prevention.
HIV/AIDS prevalence was said to have dropped by 17% in the world as a whole in the last eight years. UNAIDS published the prevalence of persons between 15 – 49 years in Cameroon as 5.1% compared to 2004. Though this results, Minister Andre Mama Fouda reiterated that the country’s population could do more efforts to arrive at a rate below 5% in the next two years.
Answering the query on the ruptures of anti-retroviral drugs in Cameroon, Dr. Thierry Mertens of the UN system announced that Cameroon is the No.1 in Africa as far as availability of HIV/AIDS care units and voluntary screening centres is concerned. This justifies the availability of treatment drugs at a durable stage that needs to be consolidated, he emphasized.
The representative of persons living with HIV/AIDS, Michel Irogo, told the audience that the area of rights protection of infected and affected persons remains unexploited because of the lack of a legal frame work in Cameroon. He explained that stigmatisation and discrimination is still a reality throughout the country.
Though there was joy in the drop of prevalence, the Cameroon government has to think twice at the moment on how to reduce the fears of persons living with HIV, because it missed the eight and ninth round of the Global Fund subvention for the next two years 2010 to 2011.
The government through the ministry of public health is currently encouraging public-provate partnerships (PPP), as a means of making treatment and care of persons living with HIV/AIDS in enterprises sustainable even without the Global Fund subvention. On the other hand, the minister of public health during the last national assembly budget session proposed a project of including HIV/AIDS into the 2010 investment budget as a solution.
The argument given to defend the budget is that HIV/AIDS affects the national economy negatively, especially as it affects the out put of workers and productivity of industrial chains. Cameroon is taking measures to implement the universal access to treatment as contained in its 2006 – 2010 health plan of action.
In the Littoral region, 15.000 persons are under anti-retroviral drugs supervision The Regional Coordinator for AIDS Control in the Littoral region of Cameroon, Dr. Noel Essomba, says there are 45.000 infected persons and the prevalence rate is 4.5%.