The First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has charged community leaders to join hands to enforce the fight against HIV/AIDS in order to eradicate it from the African continent.
This is contained in a statement by the Senior Special Adviser to the First Lady on Media, Mrs. Busola Kukoyi, on Friday in Zimbabwe.
Mrs. Tinubu gave the advice during the commemoration of 2023 World AIDS Day with the theme “Let Communities Lead.”
The first lady said the epidemic can only be eradicated with the active involvement of leaders of various communities leading the war against it.
The event was organized by the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa, ahead of the 22nd edition of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).
The conference, which had participants from the United Nations and other sister agencies, spoke about the need to scale up advocacy and education about the pandemic.
Mrs. Tinubu decried the recent statistics released by UNAIDS, which revealed that in 2022, there were about 1.5 million new infections on the African continent, accounting for two-thirds of that figure.
“For decades, the global response to HIV/AIDS has been driven by governments, international organizations, and healthcare professionals.
“While their efforts have been commendable, it is time to recognize the pivotal role that communities play in shaping the response to this epidemic.
“Communities should be at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS, and their leadership is crucial in achieving our goals of prevention, treatment, and support.”
“The Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OFLAD), would be having a pre-conference high-level meeting on Saturday under the theme “Addressing the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission and the Elimination of Newborn Infections in Africa.”
She said the conference would be for the purpose of sharing experiences from various nations, providing recommendations, and devising strategies to achieve the all-encompassing goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV on the African continent.
Mrs. Tinubu urged various community leaders, especially traditional rulers, religious leaders, and NGOs, among others, to intensify efforts to achieve the target of eradicating the pandemic by 2030.
“We are Africans. We are known for our resilience and tenacity. We must not give up. This we can do and must do, he said.
Earlier, Mrs. Mnangagwa educated the participants about the dangers of premarital sex, unwholesome medical practices, and youth and adolescents’ vices, among others.
“There is a need to stop the blame game between the men and the women and concentrate more on coming together to put an end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, she said.
The presentations were made by Zimbabwean artists to drive home the need for enhanced community involvement in the fight against the pandemic.
The meeting also highlighted the elimination of mother-to-child transmission and the elimination of new-born infections in Africa.
