USAID supports National Strategic Plan and Public Policy on AIDS

On December 1st, World Day Against AIDS, the Minister of Health, Margarita Gurdián, presented the National Strategic Plan and Public Policy on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, HIV and AIDS. The Minister was accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador in Nicaragua, Paul A. Trivelli; the UNAIDS Coordinator and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative, Debora Comini; the President of the Nicaraguan Association of People that Lives with HIV/AIDS (ASONVIHSIDA), Arely Cano; The Executive Director of the Center for the AIDS Education and Prevention, Norman Gutiérrez, and the President of the North Atlantic Regional Commission to Fight AIDS, Marisol Carlson.

The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provided technical and financial assistance for the elaboration and public discussion of both documents, which spans the next five years. USAID/Nicaragua Director Alex Dickie, outlined the agency’s commitment to support the evaluation and monitoring process of the National Strategic Plan and Public Policy, as a way to contribute to their success. 

The plan will set priorities and coordinate multisectoral efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nicaragua. The main objectives are to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections, and mitigate the effects of the epidemic through the promotion of safe sexual practices and access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.

This year, USAID is providing $1 million to include the Caribbean Coast in the Ministry of Health’s activities to improve the health care for people living with the HIV virus or with AIDS.