World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease
It’s #WorldAIDSDay.
1 in 4 people with #HIV don’t know they have it.
Know your risks – #KnowYourStatus. ? https://t.co/ubfHuLG4Pz#HealthForAll @WHO pic.twitter.com/odZkHBODJb
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) December 1, 2018
The challenge with HIV is that people who have it don’t usually know their status until they are tested #WorldAIDSDay pic.twitter.com/zLYjIu1EJZ
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) December 1, 2018
Discrimination remains the main problem undermining the war on HIV-Aids in Kenya even as World Aids Day is marked worldwide.
US Ambassador Robert Godec says stigmatisation is keeping people from coming out to know their status. He called this a threat to the sustainability of the anti-HIV drive.
It is #WorldAIDSDay. ‘Know Your HIV Status’ is this year’s theme. We have a come a long way in raising awareness about AIDS, however the stigma still persists, which is preventing the delivery of care. Let’s pledge to scale testing to improve care & prevent more infections. pic.twitter.com/VQ90fFFUXB
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) December 1, 2018
“More concerted efforts is needed to sustain the gains made in the fight against this scourge, especially focusing on sensitising people to know their status and get treatment,” he said at Line Saba Amref Clinic in Kibra.
They marked 15 years of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pefpar) programme, which was started by former US President George W. Bush in 2004. Godec said a more proactive focus against the stigma problem will help “confine the disease to the history books in the near future.”
As the sun sets on #worldaidsday we honour the many lives taken too soon over the past decades. Unfortunately stigma still exists and there is much medical work still to be done to eradicate this disease worldwide. Together we can make a difference.
— Prof Kerryn Phelps AM (@drkerrynphelps) December 1, 2018
Pefpar country coordinator Tamu Daniels said the US government has spent Sh650 billion on the programme and put about 1.1 million people on life- saving ARV drugs. “Our intervention in the country has been multifaceted, but stigma remains the main challenge,” she said.
Clinician-in-charge Winnie Nzioka said though the stigma has greatly subsided since 2003 when the disease was the leading cause of death in the country, it still hurts the drive. Some pockets of society are afraid of knowing and facing their status, she said.
Have tested for HIV and why have done so or not?