The day is aimed at creating awareness on the HIV/Aids pandemic, safe sexual health, encouraging people to know their status, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle if your are infected by HIV/Aids, how to protect yourself when still HIV negative, supporting those that are infected and remembering all those who have died due to this illness.
A long time ago, people use to regard this as a deadly disease, and most used to think that HIV could be spread by just touching someone with the disease, sharing utensils and hugging among other things.
But over the years, through intensive research, education and treatment, more people are discovering that this disease is not deadly and that people who are infected by it, are able to live a normal and longer life if and when the disease is controlled properly.
This however, does not mean that people with the disease can indulge in unprotected sex just because they are already infected, but it means that must continue protecting themselves so they don’t get reinfected.
Therefore, it is imperative for everyone to know their status so that we can all make more informed choices about out health, live healthy lifestyles and have safe sex because in some way we are all infected or affected by this pandemic.
It is also important for communities to starting working hand in hand in the fight against HIV which has left some families broken and children being robbed of their families and ending up as orphans in child-headed families, with no one to take them.
Over time, numerous efforts have been made by the government to try and to ensure that HIV positive people are able to get treatment that can help to control the disease.
This has also given hope to a lot of HIV positive parents longing to have children, since babies born from parents with the virus, don’t also have to be infected.
These children are now able to be born into society without being infected by the virus if their mothers take ARV’s as soon as they find out they are pregnant.
But the government cannot win this battle alone.
Prevention is still better than cure and people should practice safe sex as no one is immune to the disease.
This can be done by practicing safe sex, having one sexual partner, regularly testing to know your status and by living a healthy lifestyle among other things.
As a nation let us join hands and support all those that are infected and affected by this disease.
