UNAIDS Executive Director Michel SidibÂŽ concluded his first official visit to Zimbabwe on 25 May after meeting with President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan R. Tsvangirai to highlight the country’s progress in the AIDS response.
President Mugabe and Mr SidibÂŽ met on the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the GlobalPOWER Women Network Africa, which was launched in Harare on 24 May. In their meeting, they reviewed Zimbabwe’s success in mitigating the impact of HIV as well as the opportunities to further the country’s response.
Mr SidibÂŽ commended the collective efforts made by the Government of Zimbabwe for having maintained community engagement and service provision to expand access to HIV prevention and treatment services during a difficult period. “The Government of Zimbabwe’s support for the national AIDS response bridges parties and portfolios,” said Mr SidibÂŽ. “This has resulted in a significant reduction of adult HIV prevalence and a steady decline in the number of new HIV infections.”