GENEVA, 27 February 2018—UNAIDS has received its first presidential visit. The President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, visited UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27 February 2018 to discuss the response to HIV, tuberculosis and malaria with Geneva-based global health leaders.
The President met the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, and thanked him for UNAIDS’ continued support to Mozambique in its efforts to reduce new HIV infections, expand access to antiretroviral therapy and break down the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV.
“UNAIDS is so important to the lives of people, because in Mozambique there is nothing more important than life itself,” said Mr Nyusi. “Everything we do can only be done if we are healthy. So as leaders we need to ensure our people’s well-being.”
Mr Sidibé highlighted that since 2000, Mozambique has quadrupled the number of people on antiretroviral therapy, reduced the number of new HIV infections among children by 63% and ensured that 80% of pregnant women living with HIV have access to treatment, which he called “a remarkable achievement”.
“The President of Mozambique is a true example of the new era of leadership in Africa, which is improving health outcomes for people across the continent,” said Mr Sidibé.
The President participated in a round-table discussion on global health and the Sustainable Development Goals, which included the Mr Sidibé, José Condugua Antonio Pacheco, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Joao Leopoldo Da Costa, Deputy Minister of Health of Mozambique, Ambassador Pedro Comissario, Permanent Representative of Mozambique in Geneva, Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance, Kesete Admasu, Chief Executive Officer of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and Marijke Wijnroks, Interim Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
During the discussions, the President described how he is scaling up efforts in Mozambique and how the health of the people is improving. However, he also outlined the many challenges he faces, including funding to strengthen the health system, reaching remote areas in the north of Mozambique and controlling the spread of disease through Mozambique’s many ports.
The Geneva-based global health leaders recognized the challenges and encouraged him to continue working to improve health outcomes for the people of Mozambique, pledging their full support. They also urged him to continue his work in increasing the number of community health workers in order to alleviate some of the burden on the overstretched health system and reach more people in rural communities.
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
