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MDC calls for increase in ARVs availability
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
December 01, 2011

The MDC joins the rest of the world in commemorating the World Aids Day with a call to the inclusive government to increase the distribution of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) across the country.

The theme for this year's World Aids Day is: "Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination. Zero AIDS-Related Deaths". The first global health day has been observed on 01 December since 1988 to highlight the fight against HIV and Aids.

Making ARVs easily available saves lives and their benefits far outweigh the risks. Zimbabwe needs to face realities of the HIV and Aids pandemic head-on and seriously tackle issues that are affecting the nation and help in mitigating the scourge. HIV and Aids remains one of the biggest threats to development in Southern Africa, especially in Zimbabwe where high costs of drugs and food over the years have conspired to spread the condition among those living with HIV and Aids.

Zimbabwe still remains one of the countries with the highest prevalence in the world where over 5 000 Aids-related deaths occur every week. As a result, the country is losing its most productive and economic population.

The MDC welcomes what the inclusive government has done to address the collapsed health delivery system. Public clinics and hospitals have reopened making it easier for patients to get affordable treatment. However, the country needs to prioritise and engage in preventive rather than curative measures to prevent the further spread of the disease, to minimise its impact and to mitigate effects by providing a caring and compassionate environment for those infected through the provision of adequate ARVs to all.

As a party, the MDC urges Zimbabweans to remove the stigma of Aids. People must be tested so that they know their status. This will enable them to make safe choices that will make them live long. As a as a nation we must de-stigmatise and unmask this disease.

The MDC calls on the inclusive government to urgently deal with the challenges of this pandemic in order to provide affected people with hope. Real change can only be delivered to the people when they have a caring government which provides them with adequate and compassionate care.

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