Statement of the UN Resident Coordinator at the UN75 Dialogue with Persons Living with HIV in Eswatini

Brothers and sisters, good morning to you all.

It is with great pleasure that I join you on behalf of the UN Development System in Eswatini, ahead of this important engagement to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on People Living with HIV.

I also take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all the partners involved in making this dialogue possible:  Eswatini National AIDS Programme, NERCHA, UNAIDS and the support groups represented here and others that may be joining us online.

This year, the UN is marking its 75th anniversary. In light of the challenges facing the world, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has launched global dialogues to seek your views, concernsand recommendations on how to shape a better future for us and the generations to come.

In this regard, the UN has been encouraging countries to facilitate dialogues based on the theme: “The future we want, the UN we need”. Those dialogues are hosted with several groups, especially the most vulnerable and the marginalised, and the feedback from those exchanges will be included in a report to be presented at the 75th session of the General Assembly in September 2020.

I wish to, once again, take this opportunity to congratulate His Majesty King Mswati III for Eswatini’s  election as  Vice President of the coming General Assembly. This puts our Kingdom  in a privileged position to contribute in shaping the future of the world at such a critical time in the human history.

I also wish to reiterate that your presence here today is very much appreciated. Your voices must be heard and will be heard. I therefore advise you to feel free to make  candid and open comments,  as you tell us about your experiences and aspirations, and seek to offer solutions to the current challenges facing the world, including Eswatini.

As you may agree and as observed around the world, , although the COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone and everywhere, it does not affect everyone equally.  The pandemic has laid bare severe and systemic inequalities. The UN is particularly concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, including PLHIV, People with Disabilities, Migrants, refugees, women, children, and older persons.

In several parts of the world, COVID-19 is colliding with the ongoing HIV epidemic or another health emergency such as Ebola in certain parts of the DRC. COVID-19 must be a wake-up call to do things differently and mount a recovery that is people-centered and is based on economic and social justice.

Despite lockdown measures, limited access to treatment and medication in a constrained environment, disruptions in the supply chains, focus on COVID-19 health and economic challenges, people affected by HIV must have uninterrupted access to HIV prevention services. The UN and partners continue to support the Government and the people of Eswatini to ensure that those living with HIV, TB and other chronic illnesses continue to get lifesaving medicines. Should treatment be disrupted, COVID-19 could jeopardize years of progress against HIV and AIDS.

Before the outbreak of the disease, the Kingdom of Eswatini was on course to eradicate AIDS by 2030. Eswatini has surpassed the global target of 90-90-90and has reached the 2030 target of 95-95-95. This means that, in Eswatini, 95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 95% of people who know their HIV status are receiving antiretroviral therapy; and 95% of people on treatment have a suppressed viral load.

As the Prime Minister mentioned during of the 2020 UNAIDS Global Report, many Emaswati have lived through two pandemics that have shaped modern life as they  know it, as we know it. Four decades or so ago, the AIDS pandemic changed the world in many ways and today COVID-19 is changing the world, societies, communities and individuals, including in the manner in which they  relate or interact with one another.

While we are confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we still have to end AIDS and provide full support those affected by the AIDS pandemic, and we will. Our AIDS response remains embedded in  the principles of Global Solidarity and Shared Responsibility.

While addressing COVID-19 impacts and developing response and recovery plans, Eswatini may draw several  lessons from the HIV response. We need to dig into all successful approaches and use this wealth of knowledge and experience to overcome the new pandemic to recover better, build better and ensure that we all see and live “the future you want”.

I wish you all lively and fruitful engagement as you brainstorm solutions to address the challenges confronting the world today.

I thank you.