Yaoundé, 2 September 2008 -- African countries have made modest but steady progress in curbing HIV infection since the WHO Regional Office for Africa spearheaded the launch, in 2006, of an initiative to accelerate HIV prevention in the Region.

This assessment is contained in a progress report presented by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, to the fifty-eighth session of the Regional Committee for Africa taking place in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The report says that since the launch of the initiative in 2006, 21 countries have developed roadmaps for acceleration of HIV prevention, 25 have revised national plans into which acceleration of HIV prevention have been strategically integrated, and ten have established HIV prevention committees to improve coordination.

Also, five countries have organized national forums to discuss the factors driving the HIV epidemic, six countries have launched national campaigns to promote HIV testing and counseling (HTC), and another six have taken concrete steps to integrate Male Circumcision into their HIV prevention priorities.

According to the report, 23 of the 46 Member States in the Region were supported by WHO to expand HTC and in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).

The result of this effort has been encouraging: districts with at least one facility for providing HTC increased from 5% in 2005 to 60% in 2007, while the total number of pregnant women accessing PMTCT services increased from 190 000 at the end of 2005 to over 300 000 by the end of 2007. A markedly apparent increase was recorded in eastern and southern Africa.

During the same period, the proportion of patients accessing antiretroviral treatment rose to 35 % (which represents a 54 % increase in just one year) thanks to the close collaboration with partners as well as increased availability of financial resources.

On the way forward, the report says that WHO will continue to support countries to focus on cost-effective and evidence-based interventions, advocate for sustained quality health promotion, forge new strategic partnerships and harmonize ongoing collaborative efforts to support coordinated scaling up of HIV prevention activities.

For further information, please contact:

Technical contact:

Dr Rui Vaz

Tel: + 47 241 39427

E-mail: vazr [at] afro.who.int

Media contact

Samuel Ajibola

Tel : +47 241 39378

E-mail : ajibolas [at] afro.who.int