Zambia: HIV/AIDS Should Be Fought By All Stakeholders

The Government has said the problem of HIV/AIDS should be fought by all stakeholders if progress made in the fight against the pandemic is to continue.

Health Minister Joseph Kasonde said HIV/AIDS was affecting the ability of all sectors of Zambian society to pursue their goals, and that the Government continued to lose critical labor.

In a speech read for him by Ministry of Health director of public health and research, Elizabeth Chizema during a swearing-in ceremony of 32 peace corps from the United States of America, Dr Kasonde said the Government took issues relating to HIV/AIDS seriously.

He said peace corps would supplement Government's efforts in improving the quality of life for HIV/AIDS patients, addressing stigma and behavioural change

Dr Kasonde urged all the staff from the Ministry of Health in the areas where the peace crops would be posted to provide support and facilitate the sustainability of preventive health interventions.

United States Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella said President Michael Sata, as minister in 1994, issued the first invitation to the peace corps and that since then more than 1, 000 Americans had served in Zambia.

Mr Storella urged the peace corps to be ambassadors of peace who would be stationed in rural Zambia to promote peace in the areas that they will be operating from.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!