‘Transactional sex is an epidemic in our region’

Eastern and southern African Joint United Nations Programme on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS) director Anne Githuku-Shongwe says transactional sex has become an epidemic in the region.

She said this during the HIV Multisectoral Leadership Forum in Windhoek on Tuesday.

In May, first lady Monica Geingos encouraged young people to work hard to avoid transactional sex.

“Avoid falling prey to older men and engaging in transactional sex,” Geingos said.

She said such activities come with long-term consequences which could have dire effects on future endeavours.

Githuku-Shongwe yesterday said the journey of ending HIV-AIDS requires political and financial decisions to achieve four goals:

“Following the data, tackling inequalities, investing in our communities, systems, and leadership, and sustaining the financial and political programmatic investments in the HIV response.

“Then we can achieve the progress seen in some of the countries across the continent,” she said.

Many countries have addressed the various gaps that have been set, however, many are still visible, she said.

“These are the gaps that continue to cause 3 100 girls to be infected in our region per week, and the statistics are seven times higher than in boys in some countries,” she said.

“Following the data and political investments continue to be crucial as multisectoral engagements.

“Complacency and controversy in legal and policy issues are keeping vulnerable populations from open access to the essential services they require . . . “ Githuku-Shongwe said.

There is a need to realign national projects and to redirect line ministries, she said.

Global Fund vice president Bience Gawanas reflected on the country’s HIV response journey.

“When we started with the fight against HIV-AIDS, we were very clear as it was first a question of awareness, and then treatment.

“However, we became complacent and forgot that we have not ended AIDS, and it was still important to prevent HIV,” she said.

‘PROGRESS NOT SUCCESS’

She said although there has been progress, that is not success.

Gawanas said the fund continues to make sure it puts its money where its mouth is to end AIDS as a public threat by 2030.

Currently, there are continuous inequalities fuelling the virus within countries, she said, excluding many key and vulnerable populations from HIV responses, while many people with the greatest needs in the HIV response do not have access to services.

“As per the Global Fund’s strategy for 2023 to 2028, health is a human right. People should have access to services regardless of who they are, where they are, who they love, and who they have sex with without any discrimination,” Gawanas said.

Gay rights activist Jonathan Solomons highlighted the issue of laws hindering young people from access to services and noted the need to acknowledge Namibia’s diversities and to focus on equity and justice.

“Equity in the sense that we are all treated equally as we are all deserving of the highest standard of living – regardless of our gender identity and sexual orientation.

“For sexual violence to end, the system of beliefs which enables it to live need to be dismantled and reconstructed to be inclusive and equitable,” he said.

Geingos referred to the challenges many community-based organisations face, such as not qualifying for grants, because Namibia is categorised as an upper middle-income country.

She also highlighted the importance of a multisectoral integrated response, with an example of the recently launched #BeFree Youth Campus, which is a collaboration with various stakeholders to ensure young people have a one-stop youth centre.

“There is a need for all of us to ask ourselves what it is we can do to break silos in the HIV response and complement government efforts in a sustainable manner,” Geingos said.

She said for progress to be made among vulnerable populations, HIV prevention must be country-led with leadership and accountability.

The HIV Multisectoral Leadership Forum consists of the directors general of National AIDS Coordinating Authorities, and was established in July 2018 with support from the Global HIV Prevention Coalition and other partners.

The second meeting was hosted by the government of Kenya in May 2019 and the third meeting is being held in Namibia over the next three days.