Star of the Week: Lisa Johnson

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Our Star of the Week is the US Ambassador to Namibia, Lisa Johnson, who on behalf of the United States of America President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Namibia programme availed US$73.6 million (equivalent to over N$1 billion) for HIV/AIDS programmes in Namibia. Johnson revealed this week that the funding is for the upcoming annual funding cycle, starting this October. Since PEPFAR began its partnership with Namibia in 2004 the number of HIV infected persons dipped from over 15,000 to less than 8,000 per year. Also, since 2004, the percentage of HIV-positive babies born to infected mothers has reduced from 30 percent to below five percent. Furthermore, the number of people dying from AIDS-related illnesses has more than halved from 10,000 to less than 4,000 per year.