Matsanjeni – Prime Minister (PM Russell Dlamini said to achieve zero HIV/AIDS infections as a country, strategies are needed to target prolonging sexual debut among adolescent girls and young women (AGYWs).
“Masingatfola nje kutsi emantfombatane acishe logesi, ahlale ngentfombi. Yati intfombatane kwekutsi angivuli, angilali ngingakashadi. (We need ways to get girls to renew their vows of chastity until they are married),” the PM said speaking at the Lubombo regional World AIDS Day at Matsanjeni North on Friday.
Matsanjeni North, presenting both opportunity and disruption, by mobility, unemployment, and poverty, has seen migration which brings livelihood possibilities, but it also exposes families, especially young people and women, to new vulnerabilities, the PM said.
“We know that limited livelihood options force many young people into risky behaviour. We know that cross-border movement sometimes separates families, interrupts treatment, and reduces access to health care. And we know that when services are not coordinated, people on the move are the first to be left behind. Yet, these very challenges also call us to transform our approach, to build a system that moves with our people, one that reaches them wherever they are, and one that sees migration not as a disruption, but as a reality to be integrated into planning,” he said.
The PM said when young people lack opportunity, when livelihoods are scarce, and when messages of prevention are not reaching them effectively, the risk of new HIV infections rises.
“We must therefore pair HIV prevention with economic empowerment, ensuring that our young people can dream, work, and live free from both poverty and disease,” the PM said, adding that government involvement will be ensured.
While Eswatini progresses well and remains among the few countries to have surpassed the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, the PM said the national goal is always to achieve zero new infections.
“We want to achieve zero new HIV/AIDS infections every year,” he said.
By 2030, the country is poised to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a public health threat and it is on track. This means achieving 100 percent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 100 percent of those diagnosed are on sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 100 percent of those on ART have a suppressed viral load.
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