A meeting was organized yesterday in Algiers, on the occasion of World AIDS Day, during which participants highlighted the importance of prevention of this disease as well as equitable access to health services. health without discrimination or stigma.
In a speech read on his behalf by the general director of prevention at the ministry, Djamel Fourar, the Minister of Health, Abdelhak Saihi, said that “this meeting is part of the global theme ”Let’s follow the path of rights ” and the national slogan: ”Together for universal access”, to emphasize the importance of offering everyone equitable access to health services, without discrimination or stigmatization”, as well as “the improvement of the quality of life of people who have contracted HIV/AIDS while working to eradicate this public health problem.
The general objective of this World Day “is to strengthen the response to eliminate AIDS by 2030, with an emphasis on equitable and quality health care,” adds Mr. Saihi, specifying that this day also constitutes “an opportunity to recall that Algeria has enshrined the right to health as a fundamental right in its Constitution, guaranteeing all citizens the protection of their health and the fight against epidemic and endemic diseases.”
On this occasion, the minister praised “the quality of the partnership between Algeria and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which has enabled the country to make significant progress in the fight against this virus” . He also praised “the efforts of the National Committee for the Prevention and Control of STIs/AIDS (CNPLS) for the quality of the work accomplished.”
The minister highlighted “Algeria’s desire to redouble its efforts to reverse the progression of this global pandemic and guarantee full and free access to all health services, including screening and treatment” .
“Thanks to this multi-sectoral national response, our country has recorded significant progress and is among the countries where the epidemic is not very active, with a prevalence rate estimated at 0.1%,” noted the minister, warning against “certain risk factors, such as risky behavior, low use of protection, injecting drug use and migration”, which require increased vigilance.
In the same context, he stressed the need “to strengthen the response to HIV, particularly among the most vulnerable categories, and to eliminate mother-to-child transmission by strengthening prevention, diagnosis and appropriate care. , while supporting people living with the virus with the support of civil society.”
Mr. Saihi mentioned the National Strategic Plan (PNS) 2024-2028 “which is part of the commitments made by Algeria”, to “optimize the national response taking into account the epidemiological situation. This Plan places emphasis on vulnerable and most exposed populations, with the aim of expanding access to prevention and care services, in an environment free of discrimination and stigma.
