
Prevencao de doencas DTS, HIV/SIDA. Foto de Ferhat Momade
Maputo, 14 Dec (AIM) – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will disburse 35 million dollars to support the health authorities in the reduction of HIV/AIDS prevalence in Mozambique.
According to a note from the American Embassy in Maputo, the disbursement is part of the “Key and Priority Populations for HIV” (PASSOS+) project, which aims at combating the stigma that prevents people from seeking testing and treatment.
The project, funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), “will train and support health care providers to deliver high-quality, stigma-free HIV prevention and treatment services to these key populations.”
“PASSOS+ will also work to increase referral services, map and monitor the services provided to these populations and reduce structural and social barriers to health services. The aim of this program is to overcome these barriers so that quality services are available at community level and at health facility level – so that no Mozambican is underserved”, reads the note.
The programme will be implemented over five years by a consortium of Mozambican non-governmental organizations, led by the International Centre for Reproductive Health in Mozambique (ICRH-M), together with the Ministry of Health and the National AIDS Council (CNCS).
“It improves health among key populations who are at high risk of contracting and spreading HIV. These populations – men who have sex with men, transgender individuals, sex workers, people who inject drugs and people in prisons and other closed environments – also suffer from discrimination and lack of social status, making it difficult for them to access quality HIV treatment services”, says the note.
The document also points out that the American government makes available over 400 million dollars in annual assistance to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Mozambique, through PEPFAR.
“With this support, Mozambique’s national response to HIV has made incredible progress towards ensuring that people living with HIV have access to and maintain treatment”, the note added.
(AIM)
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