The President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, has met with the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, during his visit to the country to speak as a special guest at the seventh session of the National AIDS Council.

During the meeting, the President and Mr Sidibé discussed the recent advances in the national response to HIV, including the reduction in new HIV infections, the reduction in AIDS-related deaths and the 25% increase in the number of people living with HIV on treatment in just one year. They also talked about the many challenges that still lie ahead, including scaling up HIV testing, access to treatment and how to avoid loss to follow-up, particularly for children.

Mr Sidibé thanked the President for the US$ 1 million contribution to UNAIDS and welcomed the considerable efforts of Côte d’Ivoire to increase domestic resources for its response to HIV by 400%.

The local production of medicines was also discussed, particularly in the context of western and central Africa, where only one person in four currently has access to treatment.

The President thanked UNAIDS for its continued support to the response to HIV in Côte d’Ivoire and agreed to be a champion for UNAIDS’ catch-up plan for western and central Africa, which will ensure that more people across the region have access to essential HIV prevention and treatment services.