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Govt establishes special HIV/Aids committees at community levels
2008-05-02 09:21:23
By Felister Peter
The government has established special committees on HIV /Aids at village level countrywide to help in the fight against the pandemic.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, the director for District and Community Response of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS), Rustica Tembele, said the committees charged with coordinating issues concerning the killer disease would be working under local government authorities.
``The aim of the government is to see that all people living with HIV/Aids have access to drugs,`` she said.
Tembele who was speaking at a general meeting of the Tanzania Network of Peoples Living with HIV/Aids (TANOPHA), said so long as the disease has been declared a national disaster, it can best be fought if the people will volunteer to test.
For his part, TANOPHA Chairman Julius Kaaya said his organisation has played a big role in fighting the killer disease.
He thanked the government for its efforts in providing them with life prolonging drugs. He said at least 90 per cent of the people living with HIV/Aids have been getting ARVs.
Kaaya said that his organisation was currently engaged in creating awareness on the disease and in establishing a network of all infected people in the country.
To date TANOPHA has a total of 133 members throughout the country.
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