Statements Other Statements Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva addresses the UN High-level Meeting on a Comprehensive Review of the progress achieved in realizing the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, New York,10-11 June 2008 - 2
| Wednesday, 11 June 2008 00:00 | |
|
Page 2 of 3 Sri Lanka provides anti-retrovirals free of charge to all those who need it, with assistance from the World Bank. Currently 102 patients receive antiretroviral treatment. Provision of treatment provides an opportunity for patients to be in contact with the healthcare system and reinforces our efforts at prevention. As the price of ARV drugs and HIV/AIDS test kits are increasing, Sri Lanka recently signed an MOU with the Clinton Foundation to obtain lower priced ARV drugs. Our financial commitment to free healthcare has not been compromised, in spite of being burdened with substantial defence expenditure to meet threats and sabotage by an armed group described by several member States of the UN as the most ruthless and organized terrorist outfit in the world. In 2001, at the UNGA Special Session, the Government of Sri Lanka pledged to pursue specific targets. Accordingly, we have put in place several strategies to address the factors that make people particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. The National Strategic Plan 2007-2011 is designed to target sections of the population identified as “high-risk” groups. In addition to these high-risk groups, several other groups such as internal and external migrants, internally displaced persons, plantation workers, and uniformed services personnel have been targeted for preventive interventions. Two core and four supportive strategies are being implemented to strengthen the ongoing preventive programmes. They include increasing people’s knowledge on STD/HIV/AIDS, providing commodities such as condoms for protection, and empowering women to participate actively in reproductive decision making processes, accessing voluntary counselling and testing, accessing services for STI screening, providing antiretroviral drugs, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Civil society in Sri Lanka has actively cooperated through specific projects in reaching out to some of the high-risk and vulnerable groups. Although injecting drug use is not common in Sri Lanka drug users in four main districts in the country are being targeted by the National STD/AIDS Control Programme, and the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Project with the support of NGOs. An important policy decision has been taken to provide adequate and early HIV prevention interventions regarding behaviour development in the youth of Sri Lanka. In school and out-of school-youth are being targeted with appropriate interventions. The National STD/AIDS Control Programme is working in partnership with the Ministry of Education to popularize the HIV/AIDS component of the recently launched “Health Promotion” programme in schools. This programme would provide our youth access to information, education and services necessary to develop the life skills required to reduce vulnerability to HIV infection. At present seventeen Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) are operating in the country where the young have access to sexual and reproductive health services, including the management of STI and counselling for HIV testing. These services are provided with staff specially trained in technical and ethical aspects to adopt non-judgmental non-discriminatory attitudes. The demand for YFHS is increasing and hence this service would be scaled up this year. The National HIV/AIDS Prevention Project has supported work plans of the National Child Protection Society, National Youth Services Council, the National Institute of Education and the Vocational Training Authority. Internal and external migration is an important aspect that has been taken into consideration in the spread of HIV infection. The groups most at risk are young men and women who live away from their families and work in the Free Trade Zones, as well as those who migrate overseas for employment. Annually about 180, 000 Sri Lankans migrate for employment, and a majority of them are unskilled women. The Government continues to provide sexual and reproductive health services to these persons. Statistics reveal that of the women who are infected with HIV around 40% were infected overseas. As the number of HIV infections among women increases more cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV will become evident in the future. Against this background the National STD/AIDS Control Programme and the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, working closely with the Foreign Employment Bureau has developed extensive programs for pre-departure migrants, families of migrant workers, re-migrants and employment agencies. |
| Links |
| FAQs |
| SL News |
| UN News |
| Advanced Search |
