Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the government is fully cognizant of the utter necessity of national leadership and ownership to fight a campaign against HIV/AIDS.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal with an HIV-infected child, Sudip Bhattarai, during a programme marking the World Aids Day at Tundikhel, Kathmandu, on Monday Dec 01 08. nepalnews.com/rh

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal with an HIV-infected child, Sudip Bhattarai…
In a message issued on the occasion of 20th World AIDS Day, Monday (December 1), PM Dahal has said that the state needs to develop leadership from village to center to create social awareness to fight the disease.

“Likewise, I want to state that it is also necessary to ensure honourable participation of people infected with the disease in all sectors of society,” he said.

In a separate message issued by Health and Population Minister Girirajmani Pokharel, he has outlined the government’s continued campaign to fight the disease.

“If we develop our process, policy and action plan on the basis of human rights, equality and social justice and remain committed to it, we can attain our Millennium Development Goals in stopping the HIV/AIDS infection,” Pokharel stated.

There are said to be around 70,000 HIV/AIDS patients in Nepal.

In a statement delivered by UN Country Team, it is mentioned that the HIV epidemic continues to have devastating impact on individuals, families, societies and nations. “With an estimated 36 million people living with HIV globally, it continues to be a major development problem, with the highest incidence among sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users,” the statement says.

This year the slogan of World AIDS Day is “Lead-Empower-Deliver.”

“In Nepal, with the joint effort of the government, civil society and international development partners, good progress have been made in the last 5-6 years in bringing down HIV prevalence and the rate of new infections in the groups most at risk. Our focus needs to be sustained to deliver much-needed services to reduce HIV and AIDS through coordination, collaboration and collective action,” the statement adds. nepalnews.com sd Dec 01 08