SINGIDA: SINGIDA Region is developing a comprehensive HIV/AIDS profile to guide evidence-based interventions, improve service delivery and strengthen efforts to reduce new infections and AIDS-related deaths.
Acting Regional Administrative Secretary, Mr Stanslaus Choaji, said the profile would provide detailed information on the region’s HIV epidemic, helping authorities identify service gaps and plan appropriate responses.
He was speaking during the opening of a meeting to prepare the profile at the Regional Commissioner’s Office in Singida.
Mr Choaji urged participants to work together to produce a document that would support planning, resource mobilisation, monitoring and evaluation of HIV interventions.
“Reliable data would help decision-makers track infection trends, identify weaknesses in service delivery and prioritise interventions according to the region’s needs,” he said.
Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Central Zone Coordinator, Mr Ericko Kawanga, said effective coordination required a clear understanding of the HIV situation in each area to guide prevention efforts and reduce deaths.
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He said that HIV prevalence in Singida declined from 3.6 per cent in the 2016/17 survey to 3.0 per cent in 2022/23.
“Approximately 29,000 people were living with HIV in the region, which has a population of more than two million,” he said.
Mr Kawanga said the figures underscored the need to sustain prevention efforts while improving access to services for people living with HIV.
The profile will examine key areas, including voluntary HIV testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, adherence to antiretroviral treatment, and efforts to combat stigma and discrimination.
The exercise is being undertaken by Singida Region in collaboration with TACAIDS, the Ministry of Health and the Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMORALG).
The completed profile is expected to provide a strategic basis for strengthening prevention, improving health services and ensuring interventions respond to the region’s specific needs.