Luanda — The regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Luís Sambo, has recently recognized that there has been considerable progress in the fight against HIV/Aids In the African region, including a decrease on the number of new infections and an increase in the access to anti-retroviral therapy.

Luís Sambo affirmed that there is an increase of the percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV and receiving medicine for a vertical cut of this disease.

He expressed concerns at the fact that although there has been a reduction in the number of new infections, the regional hiv prevalence rate remains high, the burden of disease associated with a major cause of excessive maternal and infant mortality in the region, continuing to exert a profound impact on social and economic demographics.

The WHO director for Africa noted that the institution is aware of the fact that the key challenges of the national AIDS programmes include the fragmentation of interventions, inadequate combination between the actions of the health sector and a broader multi-sector response, as well as weak health systems and over dependence on international funding.

Luís Sambo guaranteed also awareness of the key role of international solidarity and the importance of political commitment to regional and national levels, including the involvement of heads of State and Government of Africa, as well as increasing resources allocation to domestic fight against HIV / Aids in the African region.