NATION MEDIA GROUP PEER EDUCATORS JOIN THE REST OF THE WORLD IN MARKING WORLD AIDS DAY

Nation Media Group Peer Educators joined the rest of the world in marking the annual World AIDS Day on December 1 at the Maringo and Mbotela areas in Jogoo Road. The energetic Peer Educators in conjunction with various organizations such as the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) took part in door to door visits with focus on various issues such as transmission, living with HIV/AIDS and the impact of HIV/AIDS to the family and community alike.

In line with this year’s theme of ‘Getting to Zero’, the peer educators visited 10 families which had at least one member infected with the disease with four and six households located in the Maringo and Mbotela areas respectively. As we draw nearer to the Christmas holiday, the group donated foodstuffs which they distributed to the 10 families, with most having between four to 10 members.

This activity follows 30 years of the global fight against the epidemic with this year, the global community committed to focusing on achieving main targets namely: Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths.

According to AVERT.org, the global HIV epidemic is extremely diverse with both similarities and differences between regions, countries, provinces and communities. However, the global community must work together to attain universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care in order to fully address the challenge of ‘Getting to Zero’. This challenge not only affects global leaders, but it also provides each and every one of us with an opportunity of  taking up the challenge of ‘getting to zero’.

Last year, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections with 1.8 million people succumbing to AIDS despite a significant decline in the number of AIDS-related deaths over the last five years. According to recent UNAIDS estimates, a vast majority of people infected with the disease abide in low and middle-income countries.

World AIDS Day was first marked on December 1, 1988 with the aim of raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education.