Faced with what seems like a lack of interest by the Burkinabè media, in issues related to HIV-AIDS, the National Council for the Fight against HIV, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, (SP/ CNLS-IST), requested their assistance on Wednesday, in order to stem the spread of the pandemic and improve care and support for people living with HIV (PLHIV).
Burkina Information Agency
Read the full press release dated June 21, 2023
“The SP/CNLS-IST invites the media to take an interest in topics related to HIV, AIDS
The 26th edition of the Galian Prize competition was held on Friday June 2, 2023. The Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight against HIV, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, (SP/CNLS-IST) like other structures, took part in this competition for media professionals, with a special prize. The overall objective is to award a special prize to the best journalistic work on HIV, AIDS and STIs.
By offering this award, the SP/CNLS-IST wants to ensure greater involvement of press organs in the fight against HIV by promoting their productions and encouraging them to increase their productions on the themes of HIV/AIDS and STIs. .
This reward was to materialize by the granting of a special prize of one million FCFA to the winner. It is therefore with regret that the jury put in place could not detect a single journalistic work which is interested in the themes indicated above. However, the regular dissemination of information on HIV/AIDS and STIs in the media is an undeniable asset for the visibility and success of the fight against this pandemic.
We appeal to the media to take an interest in issues related to HIV because their contribution will help to stem its spread and improve care and support for people living with HIV (PLHIV). The SP/CNLS-IST is available to support any initiative in this direction.
It should be recalled that Burkina Faso is experiencing a mixed-type HIV epidemic characterized by a prevalence of less than 1% in the general population with pockets of concentration (high prevalence) within certain specific groups. Estimates, according to UNAIDS, show that prevalence in the population aged 15-49 has been steadily declining since the 1990s and is 0.6% [0.5-0.8]. AIDS remains a worrying disease and we must not let our guard down.
Despite the difficult security and health context, actors in the response to AIDS make regular efforts. The good coverage of prevention interventions is improving among populations, particularly priority ones. The medical care of PLHIV continued with an overall active file of 78,511 patients at the end of 2022, of which 75,898 adult PLHIV were all put on ARV treatment. The main challenges remain, among others, the continuity of HIV services among internally displaced persons (IDPs) and in areas with security challenges, the application of free biological monitoring of PLHIV, the use of data from the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) for serosurveillance purposes. »
Source: Burkina Information Agency