WINDHOEK, June 17  — Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states need to adopt better treatment methods for people living with HIV and AIDS without discrimination, a senior Namibian government official said on Monday.

Addressing delegates attending the SADC Ministers of Health and Social Services meeting in Windhoek, Ben Nangombe, executive director of the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services, said there is a need for sustainable methods of fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic in the SADC region.

“If we do not push for sustainability, then the gains of what has been done so far will be lost. We need to engage openly and sign resolutions that go a long way in fighting HIV and AIDS,” he said.

Although admitting that the region has made significant inroads in combating AIDS, the numbers of the people living with the pandemic are still very high in the SADC.

Nangombe said most of the countries including Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini still struggle with high numbers of people living with HIV and AIDS while there has been measures put in place to combat new infections. – XINHUA