Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa in MUBAIRA
STAKEHOLDERS, including people living with HIV, Government officials, development partners and the Mhondoro-Mubaira community held a Candlelight Memorial to remember those who succumbed to HIV-related conditions.
The memorial also served as a platform for stakeholders to rededicate themselves to fighting the pandemic.
Beneficiaries of the multi-pronged interventions against the HIV pandemic and related conditions shared testimonies of how they have managed to enjoy longer, productive and normal lives.
Ms Rose Takatsunga explained how she has managed to live a healthy life after discovering that she was HIV positive in 2004, about five years after the death of her husband.
“I would like to thank Government and partners for ensuring that from the time I was tested and confirmed to be positive, I started getting medication,” she said.
“From that day onwards, I have been able to look after my children and survive the initial setbacks, including stigma and discrimination.”
Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) representative Mrs Shupikai Majoni commended the unity among stakeholders, including Government and partners, for a successful and effective response to the HIV pandemic.
Mashonaland West Provincial Medical Director Dr Celestino Dhege said Government had managed to effectively close the funding gap following the cutting of funds from some development partners.
“We are here to honour the lives we have lost, to support those who continue to live courageously with HIV, and to reaffirm our shared determination to end Aids as a public health threat in Zimbabwe,” said Dr Dhege.
He shared milestones Zimbabwe has reached, including surpassing the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets with over 90 percent of people living wirh HIV on antiretroviral therapy.
Zimbabwe is on course to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
ZNNP+ provincial coordinator Mr Allan Makunganya said the gathering reflected the collective resolve to sustain the gains achieved so far in the response to HIV and Aids.
The Candlelight Memorial was held under the theme, “We Remember, We Rise, We Lead”.
Candles flickered in the dark in memory of those who died since the discovery of the virus, while people wrote the names of departed relatives, colleagues and friends who succumbed to the virus and related conditions
