Why African must tackle AIDS, by Lambo
From Okumpehuna Chukwunwike, Abuja
HEALTH Minister, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, has asked African leaders and people to mobilise their resources to tackle the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Lambo said at the weekend that Africa, as the continent most plagued by the killer disease, cannot afford to wait for the rest of the world to spearhead the crusade against AIDS.
He said because of the Federal Government's belief that the situation could be checked, it has agreed to host in Abuja, next year, the 14th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA) in Africa
The minister, who inspected the venue of the conference now under construction, assured that the facilities put in place would ensure a successful hosting of the event.
He said that the problem of HIV/AIDS must be tackled collectively by Africans, because the continent bears the highest brunt of the epidemic. The importance of the forth-coming event and Nigeria's readiness to host underscore the resources which the government is committing into it.
He assured that the conference would be as successful as the recently concluded Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and the All African Games known as COJA.
"Like those two big meetings, this is a conference that must succeed and I implore all well-meaning Nigerians and corporate bodies both in the public and private sectors to join hands with the secretariat in ensuring a successful outing in December 2005. I am sure the world will stand still for us again," he said.
Lambo expressed delight at the level of work at the secretariat and enjoined the workers to complement the efforts of the government to make the conference a success.
He said the conference would focus on how families in Africa could be empowered to respond wholly to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Special consideration, according to him, will be given to issues of youths, gender, human rights, traditional family values, HIV impact, mitigation and support.
The minister noted that the coming together of Africans in the country would help to review the success made in the continent in the fight against AIDS.
His words: "The coming together in Abuja of participants from all over the world would create an environment for evaluating progress made since the last conference, especially in the areas of scientific developments of vaccines, microbicides and preventive strategies that have shown evidence of success in the continent and the world.
"This conference taking place in Nigeria, therefore, gives us opportunities to learn from other countries, showcase what we have done in Nigeria and above all, give confidence to the 3.6 million people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS when they see that the world is united to fight AIDS"
He said the scale of the conference demands a vibrant and dedicated secretariat to plan and host it, adding that the government should make the conference a success so that the world would know that HIV/AIDS could be kicked out of Nigeria and Africa.
The President of the Secretariat, Prof. Femi Soyinka, said that dealing with HIV/AIDS on a continental basis was not without reason as 70 per cent of the people infected with the disease world-wide were from sub-Saharan African. He also noted that as the disease continued to thrive on the continent, no segment of the society was left unscathed.
Soyinka said that the conference would among other things help to raise Nigerian awareness of the epidemic.
The forum (ICASA) held biennially is organised by the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA). The conference, which is scheduled to be held from December 5th to 9th, 2005 has the theme: "HIV/AIDS and The Family". The 13th ICASA was held in Kenya in 2003.
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