WORLD AIDS DAY COMMEMORATION 2021

Zimbabwe’s World Aids Day commemorations were this year held at Chinhoyi University of Technology grounds in Mashonaland West Province under the theme: “End Inequalities, End AIDS, and End Pandemics.”

The theme calls for every Zimbabwean to line up not only HIV tests but also inhibition of other pandemics such as Covid-19.

Speaking during the commemorations, Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Dr John Mangwiro applauded a young female born with HIV/AIDS called Tsitsi Muregereri for her courage and confident to stand up and motivate young people living with HIV/AIDS that it is not the end of the world.

“I want to thank you Tsitsi for motivating the young people and also for the passion that you have to become a Nurse therefore we will assist by all possible means to make her dream come true in the nursing industry.,” said Dr Mangwiro.

Dr Mangwiro said the world aids day has become a key platform for nations to remember those that have died of Aids and reflect on the progress in responding to HIV which has now been compounded by extreme pandemic of covid-19.

“My ministry is spearheading the construction of 32 new hospitals, refurbishing and equipping old ones to ensure that all people have access to modern health care services and remove all inequalities in the provision of health care. 

“Our response to HIV has now rebounded and there is a continued decline for all age groups over the years from 40 900 to 24 900 between 2016 and 2020.Among adults the number of new infections has declined by 42.1 percent  while in children it declined by 22.4 percent between the same period,” he said.

Tsitsi Muregererwi said she was born HIV positive in 1999 and has accepted the reality no matter what circumstance.

“I have become to understand my status and that living with HIV/AIDS does not mean it is the end of the world. Currently, I am working with a different organization to get some assistance on that you can do many things in fact everything that is done with uninfected people. I passed my O and A Level hence now I want to become a nurse. My message to other adolescents is that to have HIV/AIDS does not mean it’s the end of the world but you have to be strong to fulfill your dreams,” said Tsitsi.