The National Aids Commission (NAC) and partners have launched activities leading to the 2024 World AIDS Day.
Speaking Wednesday, November 20, 2024 in Monrovia, Madam Cecelia J. Nuta, Chairperson of NAC, said they are pleased to launch pre-activities leading to the official commemoration of World Aids Day on Monday, December 2, 2024 at the Invincible Sports Park in Congo Town.
She said there will be mass media campaigns in promoting awareness of HIV information to influence the uptake of HIV voluntary testing and other related services, as well as community outreach and engagements including holding of town hall meetings, to engage with opinion leaders on the reduction of HIV-related stigma and discrimination directed at people living with HIV and key populations, creating awareness in schools, markets, churches, mosques, beaches, and other public places to create demand for HIV testing.
“We are going to engage stakeholders to begin the conversation of establishing a national Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Program in Liberia,” she said.
The NAC commissioner said an indoor program will climax the week-long event with important stakeholders expected to be in attendance.
However, Commissioner Nuta said the NAC is not financially potent enough to take the celebration to all the 15 counties but Nimba and Grand Gedeh will have a joint celebration.
Every year, Liberia joins the rest of the world to commemorate World AIDS Day, a day set aside by the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) in 1988 to provide an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and to remember those who have died of AIDS-related complications. Since then, World AIDS Day has been commemorated on December 1 every year.
Madam Nuta said this year world AIDS Day will be commemorated under the Global Theme, “Collective Action: Sustain and accelerate HIV progress, and a National theme, “One Goal, One Fight: Ending AIDS Together in Liberia”.
Nuta said the 36th World AIDS Day places emphasis on harnessing the significant progress being made through global and domestic HIV programs over the years, working to ensure that no community is left behind in the HIV response.
“As we join global efforts in ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, we call for a united front to address structural barriers such as stigma and discrimination that impede individuals’ ability to access HIV testing and treatment services”, the NAC Meanwhile, she said the inadequate domestic resource allocation for the HIV response in Liberia continues to undermine efforts to sustain the gains up to 2030 and beyond, citing a need to address these structural barriers to put Liberia on path with other countries.
She said the fight against the spread of HIV remains a national priority that requires collective efforts, partnership and collaboration as emphasized by the national theme, “One Goal, One Fight: Ending AIDS Together in Liberia.”
She called on the Government of Liberia to support the commission to carry on essential programs that could see the effective operations of the entity.
By Lucky M. McGee, Cub Reporter
