HIV and AIDS is a deadly pandemic which has led to deaths of millions of people worldwide and has also led to an increased number of orphans and reduced the rate of development worldwide. World Aids Day is held on 1st December every year, this is a day for people to show their support for people living with HIV and AIDS, unite in the fight against the disease, increase awareness and fight stigma.
As one of the organisations helping to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS, stigma and discrimination against people living with the disease, and not content with the lack of commemorations in December, Ungweru Organisation set aside 21st February to commemorate this day. Alongside Ungweru staff, Team Catseye organised the event with help from Ungweru Youth which was held at St Augustine Hall.
With the theme “GETTING TO ZERO” which was emphasized throughout the day, people were made aware of the 3 zero’s and that there should be zero HIV and AIDS related diseases, zero HIV and AIDS related deaths and zero discrimination & stigmatisation. We managed to spread the message to over 170 people from primary schools, secondary schools, Aids Support Group (ASG), CBCC’s, Youth groups and invited guests.
Knowing your status helps you plan better for the future and live a positive life, as Team Catseye we thought it was wise to have a testing station which was provided by Malawi AIDS Counselling and Resource Organisation (MACRO) as a way of getting to the 3 zeros. We were happy to discover that 65 people got tested, showing that the importance of getting tested has become clear to those communities we work with.
