By Samira Larbie, GNA
Accra, March 29, GNA-Dr David Pagwesese Parirenyatwa, President Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), has urged the three committees of International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) 2025 to revisit their plenary topics to ensure sustainable funding for HIV response.
The committees include the Leadership, Scientific and Community programmes.
He said this was crucial to help address the domestic financing of health systems and the sustainability of HIV/AIDS response, given the recent action taken by the U.S Government to freeze funding for HIV support.
Dr Parirenyatwa who doubles as the President ICASA 2025, gave the advice at the second International Steering Committee (ISC) meeting in Accra.
He said domestic funding should be incorporated into one of the proposed plenaries across the three committees, as it was critical for maintaining the momentum of ICASA.
“ICASA 2025 will be organized during a particularly challenging period, and if we do not think innovatively about the sustainability of our health systems and domestic financing, Africa risks returning to the dark days of the ’80s and ’90s, when people were dying of AIDS due to lack of medicine.
“Today, we cannot afford to go back. We have the medicine, the science, and we have recently seen promising results from groundbreaking research in South Africa, where the HIV Cure Trial has shown hope for a cure,” the President stated.
He called on the Africa Union and all African governments to closely examine this trial and ensure it was owned by the continent to alleviate the burden.
Dr Parirenyatwa challenged Africans, including the diaspora, to wake up to the challenge of strengthening health systems in a way that prioritizes accountability, transparency, and universal access to care.
2025 ICASA, which will be held in Ghana from 3-8 December 2025 is on the theme; “Unity in Action: Catalysing Integrated and Resilient Health Systems for Sustainable Responses to HIV, Other Infectious Diseases, and Emerging Threats”.
It aims to catalyse Africa’s progress towards triple elimination and sustainable resilient health systems through innovation and digital technologies, promote cooperation among governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organisations to enhance health security and improve pandemic preparedness and response.
It also seeks to strengthen capacity and facilitate knowledge exchange for healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers, empower communities and promote human rights and gender equality in the context of HIV/AIDS as well as emerging and re-emerging diseases.
The conference will mobilise domestic resources and political commitment to sustain Africa’s progress towards achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets and global health security goals.
Dr Franklyn Asiedu-Bekoe, the Director of Public Health of the Ghana Health Service, representing the Minister of Health, commended SAA for hosting the conference in Ghana and pledged the Government’s support in ensuring its success.
He said Ghana’s HIV prevalence had remained below two percent for almost a decade and new infections and deaths were declining steadily, while TB case notification and treatment was improving.
“Ghana is at a threshold of even eliminating syphilis and malaria in sub-districts and our 95-95 status is currently at 72, 86 and 90, he added.
Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said despite the progress made so far, there were existing gaps in expanding the national response and the continent at large.
The Director speaking on the significant progress made urged all to sustain the momentum, while assuring that the government would deploy all resources available to ensure the success of the conference.
He called on partners and private corporate organisations to support the cause to enable the country’s health sector have the necessary boost to end HIV and STI in the sub-region and the continent as a whole.
The two-day second ISC meeting saw briefing on ICASA 2025 progress report, review and finalise ICASA 2025 plenary speakers, review and finalise concurrent sessions, draft budget of ICASA 2025, call for abstract reviewers, review and validate scholarship criteria as well as call for partnership and bid.
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