BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– “Fight violence against women and children like you did HIV/AIDS.”
This was advice that was given to emaSwati by His Majesty King Mswati III at the official opening of the 5th session of the 11th Parliament earlier today during the Speech from the Throne.
He said this while addressing the national vision of ending AIDS by 2022.
“Our collective strides driven by “i-AIDS yindzaba yetfu sonkhe” has contributed to Eswatini becoming one of two countries that have successfully met the aids global targets.
“However, we remain concerned by the continuous increase of new infections. We encourage all those who find themselves in a challenging situation after being exposed to HIV to use PrEP which can prevent one from being infected.
“We would like to thank sive sonkhe and all our partners who have stood with us during difficult times. HIV remains our collective responsibility. Asicondzane ngco! Ne AIDS, singayesabi,” said His Majesty.
He then went on to highlight that at the same time, as emaSwati, they needed to confront one of the drivers of the AIDS pandemic: gender-based violence.
“Just as we have done with aids, we must use the same level of determination and collective responsibility to bring an end to violence against women and children,” the King said firmly.
He further said the country had also made notable strides in the fight against malaria and TB. “Nonetheless, we would like to remind and urge all emaSwati and partners to continue to contribute towards the end malaria fund so that we have adequate resources.”
