And whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, it is a disease which is there and which may stay for a long time.
It is one disease that does not discriminate based on age, race, religion, sex or status.
It has ripped parents from their children, robbed young people of parents, families of aunts and uncles and grandparents.
And even though we are slowly moving in the right direction in terms of treatment as a country, for those living with the disease, much more can still be done in our homes and communities.
The greatest concern for me is that our country is one of the ones with the highest number of new infections.
More than that, people who are getting infected the most are young girls and women.
Where does this put us as a country, one may ask?
For me it means that more education must be given on the topic especially to young people.
It means that as young and old, we need to start speaking out more on the realities of sexual intercourse and HIV/Aids.
We need to preach the message of abstinence.
However, knowing that this may not always be a message young people will take to heart or receive with an open heart, we may have to go deeper into the matter.
There needs to be a spread of the message of self-love among young people, knowing that sex does not equal love and encouraging people to get tested as a couple.
Further there should also be a practice of safe sex at all times, having one sexual partner and being faithful.
And the reason why I touch on being faithful, is that in some religions using contraceptives as a married couple is seen as wrong as you stop the natural process of having children.
But how then do you protect yourself if you are a faithful partner and your other half, is sleeping around outside of the marriage?
The reality means that you are then at the receiving end of all the illnesses they go around collecting from their other sexual partners.
And maybe by the time you finally discover that the uninvited guest called HIV/Aids has moved into your home, it is too late.
So let us unite as a nation to fight this battle together.
Know your status, abstain or practice safe sex, stick to one sexual partner and be fair and faithful to them.
And if you have been diagnosed as HIV negative, strive to keep it that way. If you are HIV positive, go to the clinic, take care of yourself, use a condom, eat healthy and exercise.
Let us talk about such issues and support one another because we are all either infected or affected by HIV/Aids.
