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Break the silence on AIDS - minister
Liz Clarke The Daily News, May 20 2002 . Reprinted courtesy Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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National Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang urged society to break its silence over HIV/AIDS.
"We have to do this to create a new environment which provides love, care and support to those who need it," she told more than 8 000 people gathered at the Jozini Stadium in northern Zululand on Monday for the annual candlelight memorial ceremony for those infected and affected by the disease.
This silence, she said, made it difficult for people to reveal their status.
"People cannot share the challenges and the problems they face because of the discrimination and stigma associated with HIV and AIDS. I want to salute those of us who in the midst of this silence have come out and declared their HIV status."
Thousands of people from one of the most AIDS-ravaged areas in the world lit candles for those they had lost to the disease and for family and friends living with it. Openly weeping, many said for the first time they were speaking about how HIV/AIDS was affecting their lives.
Lindiwe Nzama, a young mother of two who lives in a rural settlement outside Jozini, said AIDS was something that "makes me very scared. I think about it, but I don't say anything. Today I did speak about it."
Tshabalala-Msimang said the candlelight memorial was a reminder not to focus on illnesses and the statistics "but on the people who are affected - the woman who has lost her partner, the orphan who has lost a parent, the grandmother who is caring for her daughter's children".
The theme for this year's candlelight memorial was "Share your vision for a brighter tomorrow".
The minister said this message was needed to encourage individuals to share their personal vision with others - "to create the future we dream about".
Referring to the fact that "something" could be done to prevent unborn babies from getting the infection, she said it was more important for women to find out their status before they even fell pregnant so that they and their partners could make proper decisions about their lives.
"I therefore want to urge all of us to go and be tested so that you can know and plan your life. Knowledge is power".
She said if the call to volunteerism was heeded "it would not be difficult for us to look after those who are ill and who need care. Orphans will be taken care of in our communities. In this way we can overcome the challenges of this epidemic."
Her personal vision for HIV and AIDS was a South Africa where "every citizen plays their special and unique role in preventing further spread of HIV. I have a vision of a South Africa united as never before, united and committed to a common action and a deep resolve to stop this pandemic". |
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