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By:
DICKSON IRUNGU | |||||||||
| Posted:
Dec,02-2016 11:21:46
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| Nakuru, Kenya:Every year on the first day of December, World AIDS Day events take place to raise awareness and show support for those living with HIV and AIDS. The World AIDS Day 2016 event is the 28th since launching and this year's world theme was; 'Accelerating the momentum in HIV Prevention.' Kenya commemorated the Day as different counties held individual events with the National event taking place at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. The national commemoration event was led by the First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta. The national theme was; 'Getting to Zero'. The First Lady urged everyone to join hands in fighting for the theme's success. "HIV has made an enemy of all of us. And it is only when all of us come together, that we have any hope of finally getting to zero--zero new infections and zero HIV related deaths," She said. She however didn't fail to mention the pandemic's effect on the youth. "As a predominantly young country, heavily reliant on our youth; and as a country which hopes to capitalize on the potential of women, we have to recognize that these trends are untenable and threaten to erode all the gains we have made, nationally, in the struggle against this destructive disease," said the First Lady. "We just need to keep pressing on; pushing on and refusing to cede any ground back to this disease," she added. She noted the significant efforts that the nation has made. Ten years ago, HIV/AIDS prevalence stood at 10% but currently, it stands at 5%. She acknowledged that it has been achieved through synergistic efforts from every institution. "We have seen progress, incredible progress. And that is thanks to the concerted, multi-institutional, multi-faceted efforts we have made," she said. In Nakuru County, the event was organized by the County Government in partnership with National AIDS Control Council (NACC) and other organizations with the same interest in HIV/AIDS prevention and control. During the same event, the Nakuru County officially launched their HIV and AIDS Strategic plan. The county's theme was; 'Prevention of New HIV Infections with Focus on Adolescents and Young People.' In observing the National Theme, the county appreciated the success of 200 children who were confirmed to be HIV free although their parents were infected. It was a success seeing that people are working to ensure mothers living with HIV are trained on how to prevent new infections to their newborns. In his speech, the Nakuru Governor, Hon. Kinuthia Mbugua who was represented by Nakuru County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Health, Dr. Kabii Mungai, thanked everyone for showing the will to fight and end HIV among the youth in Kenya. The Governor thumbed up the move to launch the AIDS Strategic Plan. "Together with NACC, County Governments have now developed County AIDS Strategic Plan. The Plan developed through a consultative process seeks to guide the County Government in tackling the AIDS pandemic through Planning, Resource Mobilization and Ownership of the response," read part of his speech. He expressed the distress that youth and adolescents below age 24 who make up 60% of the total population in Kenya have recorded the highest number of new infections. "It pains me to mention that the future of our nation is at risk because more than half of all infections occur among adolescents and young people of 15 to 24 years." From an array of performances and a number of speeches from different speakers at the event, the main focus was on getting the people tested and also urging the youth to embrace the use of protection if abstinence from sex is not achieved. Emphasis on the fight against stigma and discrimination was echoed. The fight that started 5months ago by NACC was mentioned in his speech and the Governor urged every organ in the county to focus on synergistically fighting stigma. | |||||||||
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Source:
AJABU AFRICA NEWS
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