Namibia is on the verge of achieving total HIV/AIDs epidemic control and in line with the triple 90 goals, the response stands at 94:96:95.

Addressing the nation Thursday, President Hage Geingob said this means 94% of people who are HIV positive know their status; 96% are on ARV treatment, and 95% are virally suppressed.

As a result of this success, he explained, the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission yielded encouraging outcomes, whereby 97% of babies born to HIV-positive mothers are HIV-free.

“The cooperation agreement between Namibia and the Government of the United States through PEPFAR continues to materially support our HIV/AIDS management programmes, which has enabled us to achieve these
gains,” he added.

Following the outbreak of Hepatitis E in 2017, Geingob said, Namibia has mobilized a national response in 10 regions, providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene, where cases have been reported mostly from informal settlements.

A total of 7,703 Hepatitis E cases and 65 deaths have been reported to date.

“While Namibia has done relatively well in its response to eliminate malaria, the country is beginning to record some reversals, with an upswing in new cases following the last transmission season of September 2019 to April 2020. The increase is due to the good rainfalls and insufficient Indoor Residual Spraying coverage.

“As we mobilise resources into the immediate public health emergency of COVID-19, I caution stakeholders not to redirect all efforts and funding at the expense of other public healthcare response. Maintaining a balance will be
critical to preserving the gains made,” he said.