BY ANDREW DLAMINI
MBABANE – Army Commander Mashikilisane Fakudze says the country has made remarkable progress in preventing fatalities due to HIV/AIDS.
Fakudze commended the efforts that has been undertaken by the country, stressing the importance of continuing with the implementation of all prevention measures to curb new infections.
The World AIDS commemoration kicked off with a tour led by military personnel who marched from Ludzeludze Army Camp to the Sports Ground. The army officials provided attendees with an overview of the services offered in the military police hospital. Fakudze highlighted that in addition to their primary focus on HIV and AIDS, the hospital also plays a vital role in screening for various cancer infections.
During his address, Fakudze expressed a call to action, saying, “Every community should lead in ending AIDS. EUDF should lead in ending AIDS, we lead, and others follow. It is in this day that we take opportunity to thank our partners, in helping us a lot in fighting with this scourge which used to be death sentence. We lost soldiers in the past, but it is the privilege to announce through this pandemic to say we are no more dying of HIV and AIDS, ” he said.
Meanwhile, PEPFAR Representative Tyrone Lapidos stressed the importance of community involvement.
Lapidos said: “The role of the community is to ensure that community participation is spelled in what services are required and importantly to contribute to the quality of care that is provided. To facilitate that minutes are kept and their suggestion boxes available for confidential feedback and suggestions that there are people that might not be feel free to openly express.”
Mphikeleli Dlamini, the Natures Programs Manager, expressed encouragement at witnessing EUDF officers taking the lead in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Dlamini affirmed their openness to collaboration with various organizations in the ongoing battle against the virus.
