24 August 2008
Luanda — With the achievement peace in 2002, the Angolan government assumed the combat to HIV/AIDS by creating its own strategies, and stop depending on regulations of international organisations.
ANGOP learnt of the information on Saturday from the director of the National Institute of Combat to AIDS, Dulcelina Serrano, who affirmed that before 2002 every instruction regarding the treatment of this endemic disease came from international organisations that considered the non-utilisation of therapy as the strategy for African countries.
According to the official, they (international organisations) defended this stand due to the difficulty of treatment sustainability by States of the continent.
She explained that, at the stage in which the country offers greater social stability, the Angolan government decided to assume the combat, granting a specific amount for interventions of the fight to HIV/AIDS nationwide, assuming the introduction of therapy with anti-retroviral drugs, with its own resources.
From 2002 to 2003, conditions were created for effective use of these medicines, and in 2004, the techniques had been outlined for the start of therapy.
According to the expert in public health, until December 2007, authorities registered 40,911 cases of HIV/AIDS, although it is estimated that about 200,000 to 400,950 Angolans are living with the virus, from which 170,000 women and 35,000 children below the age of 15.
The first case of HIV/AIDS infection in Angola was diagnosed in 1985.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Angola Press Agency. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
