Mrs Angela Trenton-Mbonde, a citizen of Guyana, is the new UNAIDS Country Director for the Republic of Ghana.

She presented her credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs,Mrs Shirley A. Botchway, in November this year.

Mrs Trenton-Mbonde brings extensive experience in public health, HIV and development, particularly in the areas of Technical Collaboration, Policy and Strategy as well as high level UNAIDS engagement in UN reform processes and coordination boards.

She has served UNAIDS in different capacities in various postings and has been working in the UNAIDS Liaison Office in New York since August 2012 prior to this new assignment.

In the meeting with the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Trenton-Mbonde spoke about the importance of getting a strong message to the people of Ghana that AIDS is not over but it can be.

She emphasized the need to intensify efforts to achieve the fast-track 90-90-90 targets, and to address bottlenecks and gaps in HIV testing, treatment and care, and HIV prevention in a catch-up plan.

Ms Trenton-Mbonde explained that countries in West and Central Africa were being left behind due to gaps in HIV prevention and treatment. As a result, UNAIDS developed a West and Central Africa Catch up Plan to help speed up implementation of the fast track targets which was adopted by the Heads of States and Governments at the 29th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.

Mrs Trenton-Mbonde is confident that these actions would set Ghana on a course to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

She replaces Mr Girmay Haile, who is now in Zimbabwe serving in a similar capacity.