Ebola has for years claimed millions of lives in the West African country of Sierra Leone and scared the world, but the concerted efforts of the government and all its people eventually claimed victory.
It’s a triumph which needs to be emulated by all other nations.
I thought about us on the home front who are faced by HIV/Aids in which our government spends billions of rand in an effort to eradicate it.
I have often heard people say that we cannot completely eradicate HIV/Aids, but only moderate its effect. I wonder how that is possible when a disease which has been declared to be more dangerous has finally been overcome in Sierra Leone.
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to interact with the deputy chairperson of the Mpumalanga Aids Council who deputises for the premier, Bishop Mlondolozi Mthembu who is also the chairperson of the Civil Society Forum, an organisation comprising representation of all sectors of society which tackles HIV/Aids in the province.
The Bishop was in the company of the head of Mpac Ms Nomusa Ndobe. I was impressed with the amount of comprehensive plans they have at their disposal to tackle, head-on, HIV/Aids throughout the province.
Efforts are there, but they find an unwilling society to tackle it together. If our society cared to meet their efforts halfway, there wouldn’t be those astronomical statistics on the disease on a daily basis.
We still have a high number of teenage pregnancies when there are birth- control measures and family planning in place through female and male condoms in supply at all health centres, free of charge.
Each year when we celebrate World Aids Day, shocking figures of the escalating effect of the disease in society are revealed.
Methinks we shouldn’t even declare December 1 as a celebration of awareness of the dreaded disease.
It is encouraging to hear of the intensified efforts to rid society of this scourge and it is embedded upon all structures to take up this fight and tackle all issues concerning the disease, then we can win the war. We need to get rid of taverns near schools.
We also need to get rid of the high number of taverns in existence in townships and villages, which incidentally outnumber schools, churches and health centres. This needs to be seriously regulated.
Enough has been said, all we need is action that has to be positively received and acted upon by society and as a whole, then we shall be victorious in the battle against HIV/Aids.
