Statements and Webcast
Guinea-Bissau
H.E. Ms. Maria Adiatu Djaló Nandigna, Minister of the Presidency, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication
9 June 2011
- Statement: English (Check against delivery)
Statement Summary
MARIA ADIATU DJALÓ NANDIGNA, Minister for the Presidency, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication of Guinea-Bissau, said her country had reduced the number of new infections by 25 per cent, and the great challenge it faced was expediting action and consolidating antiretroviral treatment. Its new approach focused on the “three zeros”, in line with the international context, she said, adding that it entailed providing universal access, reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS, and reforming coordination efforts. Guinea-Bissau had achieved positive results in terms of prevention, and the rate of contraception use had grown. The Government reached out to marginalized groups, such as sex workers, and hundreds of community agents were under training. Hundreds of pregnant women had been helped to reduce mother-to-child transmission, the survival rate among the infected had risen and thousands of people had received clinical treatment, she said, adding that orphans and children received free care.
Despite those encouraging results, much remained to be done, she said, noting that financial programmes must be implemented and vertical transmission prevented. There had been positive results in two treatment centres, where only 2 out of 200 children of HIV-positive mothers had been infected with the virus. There was a need to ensure the safety of blood transfusions and to develop external quality controls. Sex professionals, youth, drivers and uniformed personnel all remained vulnerable, and the Government needed financing to fulfil its commitments, she said, pledging that her country would continue adhering to regional agreements and building upon the successes realized to date as a result of international cooperation within the United Nations system.
Source: GA/11090