MINSK, 13 June (BelTA) – Belarus seeks to continue and step up cooperation with UNAIDS and other international partners to ensure further progress towards the eradication of HIV/AIDS, Belarus' Permanent Representative to the United Nations Valentin Rybakov said at the plenary session of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly during consideration of the agenda item on Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declarations on HIV/AIDS, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Valentin Rybakov reaffirmed the country's commitment to the Political Declaration on Ending HIV/AIDS and the UNAIDS strategy “90-90-90”.
Valentin Rybakov spoke about the national efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. The permanent representative noted Belarus' increasing efforts through implementation of governmental HIV prevention programs. Thus, over the past 10 years, the state budget spending on HIV/AIDS has more than tripled, which has made it possible to contain the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the country at the level of 25 people per 100,000.
The permanent representative noted that Belarus seeks to continue and step up cooperation with UNAIDS and other international partners, including by increasing the amount of technical assistance to ensure continued success in eradicating HIV/AIDS.
As a successful example of such cooperation, Valentin Rybakov cited the Regional Meeting on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis held in Minsk in November 2016 with the support of UNAIDS and WHO that brought together 12 countries of the region.
