Welcome Note

Last Updated (Monday, 25 January 2010 15:12)

WELCOME NOTE FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIRPERSON

We welcome you to the 2nd National HIV and AIDS Care, Treatment and Support Conference in Tanzania to be held at the Arusha International Conference Centre on 23-26th March 2010.

 HIV and AIDS continues to spread fast in sub-Saharan Africa and the most vulnerable age group is15-49 years, which is the economically productive segment of the population. The national HIV prevalence rate in this sexually active segment of the population is reported to be on average 7.0 % (females 7.7%; males 6.3%). There are however, signs that the overall national figures are stabilizing and even going down slightly in the last five years (THIS 2007/8).

The National Multisectoral Strategic Frame work (NMSF) 2003 - 2007 identified two key areas of intervention: treatment of common opportunistic infections including provision of antiretroviral treatment (ART); and home/community-based care and support. The demand for care and treatment services is also compounded by an increasing number of TB patients who are co-infected with HIV and vice-versa. In the year 2003 about 2 million Tanzanians were living with HIV (PLHIV) out of which about 440,000 were in need of ART, while some 1.2 million were in need of drugs for opportunistic infections (OIs). By the end of July 2008 following the institution of care, treatment and support intervention, about 166,000 persons were receiving ARVs through public and private hospitals. 

To effectively implement the Care and Treatment plan, the Ministry of Health has strengthened its health care facilities, provided specialized training to the health care providers and started to recruit new staff under an emergency plan. Home-based care (HBC) is a vital part of a continuum of care between the health care facility and the community of PLHIV. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the networks of PLHIV have been and continue providing the bulk of these services including treatment of OIs, economic and social support for persons, families and communities affected by AIDS. The number of people in need of these services continues to grow, which requires new modalities of deploying non-health care workers in the roll-out programs for HBC. While it is clear that efforts to scale up access to treatment, care and support in the past four years seem to be paying off by noticeable reduction of new infections in many parts of the country, access to prevention, control and treatment packages have not reached all the population groups and individuals. Strategies for access to all socio-economic groups of the population appear to be an urgent priority within the national growth and poverty reduction framework hence the main theme of this conference “Care and Treatment at Primary Health Care level: Challenges and Best Practices.”

Despite impressive numbers of support projects major concerns remain about the quality of care and support provided, the availability and adequacy of supplies including drugs and the supervision of these projects. The issue of food and nutritional support for PLHIV remains a major challenge in the provision of HBC services. Further, the deployment of non-health care workers for HBC calls for more effective training and coordination between the health care facilities and the community, which have so far been inadequate.

The health care infrastructure is currently overstretched in coping with the additional demand for treatment of OIs and the provision of ART services. The roll-out plan for ART has not been supported with adequate communication activities for PLHIV, the service providers and the community in general to promote demand for services, ensure adherence and safeguard against improper use of drugs. With the growing number of reported tuberculosis (TB) patients co-infected with HIV, the cooperation between the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) and TB and Leprosy Programme at the MoHSW in the provision of health care services is becoming more urgent than ever before. Thus despite the progress made so far in access to quality care and treatment in the country, there are still many challenges especially at primary care level. There is therefore a need to examine the bottlenecks and challenges facing the country in the current efforts to provide appropriate care, ART and treatment for OIs, and explore all available options, which will ensure the prolongation of lives of PLHIV in line with what is happening in other countries.

On the basis of the above and as a follow up to the resolutions made at the 1st National Care, Treatment and Support Conference (NCTS), it is imperative to bring together once again all professional groups and individuals involved in provision of HIV and AIDS care, Treatment and support in Tanzania. This conference will take stock of achievements and challenges identified in the implementation of the NMSF 2003-7 and provide future direction in the implementation of the NMSF 2008-12 which articulates the broad direction of the country to reduce further, the spread of HIV and to mitigate the impact of AIDS on national development. It is anticipated that NMSF 2008-12 will also guide the nation in addressing HIV and AIDS care and treatment agenda through its Number Two Priority which is to make sure that the entire population will be reached with quality and sustainable services for prevention, care, treatment and impact mitigation.

The 2nd NCTS conference will increase the awareness of different stakeholders and players on the challenges in accessing improved care, treatment and support, discuss options and formulate strategic solutions to the identified problems. It will also provide future direction for the nation in implementing resolutions for the Multi-Sectoral HIV and AIDS prevention and control strategy.

Looking forward to meeting you in Arusha,

Conference Co-Chairs
January 2010