Platform for Youth Development (PYD) joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Aids Day. This is a day dedicated to bring awareness to those who have died from the disease and strides made in the fight against it. It is a day to reflect on progress made towards arresting the scourge that has brought more tears than joy in the world. Nevertheless it is a time to rejoice as we salute all the gallantry work aimed at ensuring increased access to treatment and prevention services.
Zimbabwe has made considerable strides in reducing the prevalence rate from a massive 24% to 13% and still working hard towards achieving a single digit and subsequently 0% prevalence.
World Aids Day should therefore be an opportunity to learn about HIV and Aids. It should be a time to rekindle and rejuvenate our fight for the total eradication of the scourge from our society. It should be a day to join hands and heighten our quest for a lasting solution. Zimbabwe stands to benefit immensely from shared vision and goal of an HIV/AIDS free generation. Our unity of purpose will definitely achieve results.
The day is significant; it is a day to remind one another to take the fight to another level as we wage a spirited war against the disease that is continuously robbing us of productive and industrious manpower. We should never give up our fight, let’s continue to mobilize resources as we work towards getting to zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero Aids related deaths. We shall conquer and only if we are united and focused.
As a youth organization, we encourage young people to be responsible and practice safer sex methods to save their life. Let’s take a moment to look at ways of getting to Zero as the theme suggests. Let’s take some time to think of the world where people die not of HIV/AIDS but of other diseases. We should not allow people to die unnecessarily because of Aids.
We preach the gospel of abstinence to all young people who are not married. Abstinence from all sex related activities. Those who are married should be faithful to their partners. Sexual networks will only serve to reverse all the gains the country had achieved in the fight against the pandemic.
Let’s shun all forms of discrimination. Stigma will not help in this fight. People should be free to discuss and share about HIV without fear of being hate, or discriminated against. We need to move towards a situation where HIV positive is seen as a condition not as a passport to death. Moreover people should stop seeing HIV as a result of promiscuous behaviors.
Together Yes We Can. Together we will get to Zero.
No comments:
Post a Comment