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Zimbabwe
marks World Aids Day with activities in Chivhu
Sylvia Manika, VOA News
December 01, 2013
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/content/zimbabwe-marks-world-aids-day/1801321.html
Zimbabwe joined
the rest of the world in marking World Aids Sunday with activities
in Chivhu where the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development
Sithembiso Nyoni delivering a key note address on behalf of First
Lady Grace Mugabe promising the government will re-double its efforts
in the fight against HIV/Aids.
Activities in
Garwe stadium included music and drama as the National
Aids Council joined hands with other stakeholders in spreading
the message about HIV/Aids.
The theme for
this year’s World Aids Day was ‘Zero New Infections,
Your Responsibility, My Responsibility’.
The main message
for the day that was delivered by speaker after speaker was the
need for the country to continue fighting the deadly disease to
reduce new infections.
“The government
is committed to addressing the problem of HIV and Aids in the country
by making sure we eradicate all new HIV infections by scaling up
provision and availability of prevention services that have proven
to work,” said Nyoni.
These include
voluntary HIV testing and counseling, voluntary medical circumcision
and the preventions of mother to child transmission.
World AIDS Day
is held annually on December 1 since 1988.
HIV/AIDS campaigners
say World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and
governments that AIDS has not vanished.
The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control says an estimated 35 million people are living
with HIV/AIDS worldwide. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
More than 25
million people have died globally from HIV/AIDS since 1981, making
it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
World AIDS Day
is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against
the disease, show their support for people living with the disease,
and to remember those who have died from the disease.
Campaigners
say there is a "vital need" to raise money to find a cure,
increase awareness, fight prejudice against those living with HIV/AIDS,
and improve education to prevent the spread of the disease.
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