100 health experts and professionals of 21 countries of West and Central Africa Region (Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Bissau-Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Central Africa Republic, DRC, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad and Togo) will meet, in N’Djamena, Chad, from 24 to 25 November 2016, in the context of the 2nd Regional Meeting to fast-track Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission (eMTCT) and access to Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) for Children and Adolescents in West And Central Africa Region (WCAR).
The overall objective of this meeting organized by WHO and other members of the Joint United Nations team on AIDS (JURTA) is to fast-track progress toward eMTCT and improve access to quality ART for children and adolescents in WCAR in the context of the new initiatives like the Global Strategy for woman, children and adolescents health and the Super-Fast-Track, «Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free», to end AIDS for children, adolescents, and women by 2020. The specific objectives are to:
- Take stock of country and regional progress and best practices in the implementation of recommendations from the 2015 DAKAR Call to Action; discuss challenges, and ways forward;
- Update participants on 2015 WHO recommendations on ARV, the global strategy on women, children and adolescent health, the super fast-track, «Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free» and other relevant initiatives;
- Develop a new roadmap to accelerate access to ARV treatment for children and adolescents and for eMTCT in WCAR.