Phaahla vows to end HIV and Aids as a public health threat by 2023
Health Minister Joe Phaahla addresses the media at a briefing in Pretoria on 31 May 2023.
DURBAN – The health ministry has pledged to ensure that HIV and Aids are no longer a public health threat by the year 2030.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla made the bold announcement during the official World Aids Day commemoration event underway in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
The province is the most burdened by the global pandemic but Phaahla said it was also leading with response to the pandemic.
Phaahla addressed community members gathered for the annual event.
This year’s theme for World Aids Day is “Let communities lead”.
The health minister praised KwaZulu-Natal in this regard, saying that traditional leaders and civic society had heeded this call.
He said that while a lot still needed to be done, they were still committed to reach their goal.
“We are saying that notwithstanding all those challenges, we want to use this day today to reinstate our commitment to ending HIV and Aids, reaching 95/95 in two years time but also ending it as a public health threat by 2030.”
He added that this had now begun, saying there was also progress.
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