UN committed to Namibia's HIV fight The United Nations is committed to supporting Namibia in becoming the first country in Africa to eliminate HIV among babies by 2020, said UN resident coordinator Anita Kiki Gbeho. Gbeho, who is also UN Development Programme (UNDP) representative, pledged the organisation''s commitment during the celebration of UN Day under the theme ''UN: 71 years for 17 goals'' in the capital on Monday.
The day marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945. She noted that Namibia recently adopted the 2016-2030 HIV/Aids investment framework for ending Aids by 2030. It was reported recently that HIV prevalence in Namibia has declined from 18.2% to 16.9%. About 215 000 people are living with HIV in Namibia and 131 103 currently receive antiretroviral therapy.
“As the UN system in Namibia, we have chosen to focus on partnerships for development as part of our observance of UN Day 2016. No actor can realise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) alone,” she noted.
Gbeho stressed that the 2030 Agenda, which has 17 SDGs, will provide development focus over the next 15 years and calls for a global action to eradicate poverty. She said it is now the time to find solutions to sustainable development challenges, which would require the over 100 UN member states to address the needs of the poorest. In a message read on his behalf, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said humanity has entered an era of sustainability, with a global commitment to fulfil the promise for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “We have 17 goals to propel us towards a better future for all on a healthy planet,” he said.
Ban noted that the world is at long last moving beyond the mindset that viewed the burning of fossil fuels as the path to prosperity, while member states have embraced the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which will enter into force on 04 November 2016. Namibia signed the agreement on 22 April 2016.
NAMPA