The United States will make $80 million available to Cameroon for programs to fight AIDS/HIV, the Cameroonian ministry in charge of public health announced on Monday in a briefing note following of a meeting between the Cameroonian Minister of Health Malachie Manaouda and the new American Ambassador Christopher John Lamora.
The money donated will be used for in-country activities of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), which assists the government to ensure that 95% of people living with HIV/AIDS know their status. serology, that 95% of them are put on antiretroviral treatment and that the same proportion have their viral load suppressed.
Another part of this fund will have to be devoted to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which since January 2020 has eliminated all costs for HIV-related hospital services.
According to data from the Ministry of Public Health, between 2004 and 2020, the HIV prevalence rate fell from 5.6% to 2.7% among the population aged between 15 and 49 years in Cameroon, the estimated number new infections have also seen a decline deemed to be considerable.