LUSAKA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Friday reiterated its commitment to fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country.
Speaking during the World AIDS Day Commemoration Period from Thursday to Friday, celebrated under the theme "GETTING TO ZERO NEW INFECTIONS," held in the Central Province, the Provincial Minister Philip Kosamu said the government is committed to fight against HIV/AIDS .
Kosamu said that the government will do everything possible to ensure that there is enough support for the people living positively. He however regretted that while government was making every effort to mitigate the scourge, a lot of people, both young and old, were engaging in risky sexual activities that paused a great danger to their health.
The official said the recent Zambia Sexual Behavior Survey, revealed that one third of the total HIV incidences occurred in young people aged 15 and 24 years.
The minister said his government is therefore committed to ensuring that these young people are empowered with comprehensive HIV knowledge and that the necessary HIV prevention services and commodities become accessible to them.
He however stressed the need for young people to be given sufficient knowledge on the scourge by their schools at an early stage before they engage themselves in risky behavior.
Meanwhile, John Kufuna, Minister of north Zambia's Copperbelt Province, said on the same day at another commemoration on the World AIDS Day, that the theme for this year should reposition every stake holder in stepping up efforts to combat the pandemic.
Kufuna said Zambia has continued to grapple under the burden of the disease a situation he said has seen many ordinary people suffer.
The official stressed that despite the country recording successes in a number of areas such as the increment in a number of people accessing antiretroviral therapy and PMTCT, women, young girls, orphans and vulnerable children are still posing a challenge in curbing the disease.
Kufuna said as such government will always commit itself to ensuring that young people are empowered with comprehensive knowledge on HIV/AIDS prevention.
He said it is important that young people are empowered with information on HIV/AIDS at an early age so that it can be easy to protect themselves later on in life.
And speaking earlier, National Aids Council, NAC, Representative Dr. Roderick Vongo said Getting to Zero New HIV infection is very possible towards the fight against AIDS.
Vongo who is also a traditional doctor said fighting HIV/AIDS should start from homes and extended to the nation because it is a home that important decisions are made.
He said it is never a taboo for parents to discuss HIV/AIDS with their children and friends, but that doing so can save a life and help mitigate the spread of the disease.
He said many people got infected because they lacked knowledge such as on the importance of abstinence, condoms and the need to remain faithful to a spouse.
Vongo suggested that people should not take the availability of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for granted by engaging in promiscuous activities, but should focus on mitigating the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.
He urged the people that have not yet tested to ensure that they get tested so that they know their status because without undergoing the test, the HIV/AIDS fight was meaningless.
Meanwhile, Provincial Aids Task Force Chairman George Chigali said he was impressed with the strides that the province has made over the years in terms of reducing the HIV/AIDS infection rate.
Chigali said previously, Central Province was among the highest HIV infected areas but that with continuous awareness campaigns, the infection rate has reduced from 18 to 14 percent.
In a separate activity in Western Province, the provincial minister, Nathaniel Mubukwanu, noted that there is also need to ensure that available resources are systematically and effectively deployed to youths.
Mubukwanu has since called upon leaders across the society to actively support the legal and socio economic environment to overcome the epidemic.
The minister said young people need to be reached with HIV knowledge at an earlier age.
According to the official, the current HIV prevalence among the productive age group between 15-49 years stands at 15.3 percent at provincial level in Western Province contrast to the 14.3 percent at national level in the southern African country.
Special Report: World AIDS Day 2011
