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Lowassa assures AIDS sufferers of govt support
2006-04-10 08:43:42
By Nasser Kingwangala, Merereni, Arusha
The Prime Minister, Edward Lowassa, has said the government was determined to make sure that the health of the people, including people living with HIV/Aids, is good.
Lowassa sounded the assurance during the weekend, as he launched the multi-billion dollar ’DUME’ condom for the vulnerable group in the mining sector in the country.
Lowassa launched the condom at Mererani as one of the places where HIV/Aids infection is high.
The US government has donated 130bn/- to assist the government of Tanzania in the war against Aids .
The PM further said in addition to other health problems that Tanzanians face, his fourth-phase government is determined to ensure that HIV/Aids is contained in the society.
He thanked the US government for donating the money in the effort to combat the HIV/Aids epidemic in the country.
Quoting statistics, the Prime Minister said Mbeya has 17 per cent of HIV patients followed by Iringa with 13.4 per cent and Dar es Salaam with 11 per cent.
He urged Tanzanians to use condoms and refrain from unsafe sex. He said Babati and Mererani were leading places where HIV/Aids was high in Manyara Region.
Lowassa said this situation is due to convergence of many people at Merereni where mining activity is taking place.
He said in Simanjiro District 994 people were tested for the disease, and 228 were found to be HIV positive which is 24 per cent.
In Mererani alone he said out of 554 people who tested, 91 of them were found to be HIV positive which is 16 .4 per cent.
He said 130,000 condoms were distributed in Simanjiro District last year of which Mererani alone received 50,000, the number he said was very small.
He said the government was keen in combating the epidemic and distributing condoms and anti-retroviral virus drug to the people living with HIV/Aids .
On his part, the US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Purnell Delly appealed to women in the country to reject having sexual relationship with men without using condoms.
He said indulging in unsafe sex was causing many people to contract the HIV/Aids epidemic and make the war to eradicate the disease even harder.
He said people should always remember to use DUME condom whenever they want to have sex.
’Today, we are kicking off a multi-million dollar programme to ensure that condoms are readily available and prominently displayed wherever they are used,’ he said.
He said overall, the US government would spend 130b/- this year on HIV prevention, care and treatment in Tanzania.
Last week, the US government unveiled DUME, the new male condoms for Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.
Mererani has been selected as an icon of suffering for the most risk group of mine workers in the country.
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