World Bank Team Nods War On HIV/AIDS
By Yusuf Alghali

1st April 2004 - Mr. Malonga Miatudila, leader of the World Bank mission evaluating progress on the Sierra Leone HIV/AIDS Response Project (SHARP), has indicated his satisfaction with the general level of awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic during a meeting with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah at the Hill Station Lodge Thursday 1st April 2004.

Earlier in October of 2002, the World Bank had commenced a fifteen million-US dollar support to a four-year national HIV/AIDS response project, which is now in its eighteenth month. According to Mr. Miatudila, Sierra Leone had managed to maintain a significantly low disease prevalence rate, which he noted was still under the five percent danger threshold.

However, he cautioned that in spite of the relatively low infection rate, Sierra Leoneans must not rest on their oars and "go to sleep", emphasising that now was the time for all to do all that could be done to forestall the country descending into disaster.

The mission leader disclosed that for the past twelve days, he had had the opportunity of visiting a number of places in Freetown as well as selected provincial headquarter towns, including Kabala, Makeni, Kambia Kenema and Moyamba. "We are impressed with the level of awareness and eagerness on the part of everyone to do something positive about the spread of AIDS," Miatudila said, adding that the World Bank would not want to lose the current momentum.

President Kabbah, in his remarks, described SHARP as a very important national project, stressing that the life of every single Sierra Leonean means a lot more after the recent gruesome war, which claimed the lives of thousands. "To lose more lives to the HIV/AIDS pandemic would be yet another tragedy," the Head of State said, underscoring the need to avoid crossing the 5% disease infection threshold.

He said he was also very pleased with the amount of work done in the area of HIV/AIDS sensitisation but noted that difficulties related to the accessing of project funds and other technical problems need to be addressed in a timely way.

The President, who also referred to the ongoing US-funded HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programme for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), called for greater cooperation and coordination between SHARP and the American-sponsored programme to avoid unnecessary duplication as well as obtain better value for money. The RSLAF/HIV/AIDS Awareness Prevention Programme which started in June 2002 with support from the United States Department of Defence has trained some thirty counsellors; distributed about 1.4 million condoms; set up HIV/AIDS Sentinel Surveillance Antenatal Clinic; refurbished and equipped specific laboratories for voluntary testing and provided HIV Test Kits.

Earlier in his introductory statements, SHARP Director, Dr. Sidi Alghali spoke of technical difficulties both in accessing project funds in the Ministry of Finance as well and adhering to donor pre-conditionalities and called on President Kabbah, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Aids Council (NAC), to use his good office to facilitate the release of funds required to implement the project.

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