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Lesotho commemorates World AIDS Day at
Sehlabathebe in Qacha’s nek |
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His Majesty King Letsie III has appealed to the
nation to stop engaging in extra marital
relationships as studies show that such people
are at risk of contracting the pandemic if the
behaviour does not change.
His Majesty said this when addressing multitudes
of people at commemoration of the World AIDS Day
at Sehlabathebe, Ha Semenyane in Qacha's nek on
Monday December 1st, 2008.
He said according to the study conducted by
National AIDS Commission (NAC) earlier this
year, 40 percent of Basotho are involved in
extra marital affairs as people have more than
two sexual partners at the same time and thus
increases risk of new HIV infections.
'Should the situation keep the same trend,
married people are mostly at risk of contracting
the pandemic,' he elaborated.
His Majesty the King further urged the public to
also stop being involved in casual sex, saying
such activities will also increase the spread of
HIV in the country.
He strongly appealed to the nation to know their
HIV status in an effort to promote a positive
living, adding that 'it is only when people know
their HIV status that they can protect
themselves accordingly.'
He further advised all to learn more about
issues related to HIV/AIDS since knowledge is
power.
His Majesty commended the government for the
efforts made in response to scaling up of
HIV/AIDS in the country that include
implementation of Know Your Status campaign
since 2005.
He also commended the commitment to provide AIDS
treatment for people living with the pandemic as
yet another milestone achieved by the
government.
'Around 200,000 people have tested for HIV
throughout the country, the numbers are
impressive but all people should opt for
voluntary counseling and testing since the
journey to fight the pandemic is still long
ahead,' he added.
His Majesty King Letsie III congratulated
support groups for the hard work they do in
providing care and support to people living with
HIV/AIDS as well as orphans and vulnerable
children in their respective areas. He
encouraged them to continue offering voluntary
services to those affected and infected.
Speaking on behalf of the United Nations family
in Lesotho, the Irish Ambassador to Lesotho, Mr.
Paddy Fay congratulated the government on its
endevours in the scaling up of the pandemic in
the country.
He called on leadership in the country to
strongly join the fight against the pandemic,
saying the pandemic remains a global and social
challenge, which requires nations to prioritise
activities that could lead to its reduction.
Mr. Fay pledged continued support of development
partners to Lesotho government to further fight
the pandemic of HIV/AIDS.
He also commended the Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare for its mid term strategic plan
to deal with HIV/AIDS prevention, saying,
'prevention is a corner stone to fight the
pandemic.'
The World Aids Day is commemorated annually to
remember people, who died of the pandemic and
those living with it.
Activities of the day included a candle lighting
ceremony and a moment of silence in remembrance
of people who died with HIV and AIDS, fun walk,
speeches and songs and presentation of red
ribbon awards to media personnel for taking part
in a competition to write and produce articles
on HIV prevention.
Awards were presented by the Deputy Prime
Minister, Mr. Lesao Lehohla.
Tapera Chikuvira, editor of public eye newspaper
won the prize and was awarded M5000 and a
certificate of recognition from NAC.
Other journalists, who took part in the
competition were drawn from the state media,
Harvest FM and Informative newspaper. They also
received certificates of recognition.
Last year, the World Aids Day’s national
celebration was held in Leribe. (www.gov.ls) |
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