Ruth Odinga to lead war against HIV/AIDS and stigmatization

Kisumu Deputy Governor Ruth Odinga has volunteered to champion against stigma that is associated with HIV/AIDS in Kisumu.

Ms. Odinga said she will traverse the county and speak in forums and meetings on the scourge.

She urged residents to stand up and talk fearlessly about the disease that has brought about stigma and discrimination in the workplaces and society.

The Deputy Governor said women are the most affected by HIV/AIDS noting that she will use her position to enlighten the residents about the disease.

Speaking in a governance forum organized by TEAM, a Civil Society Organization in Kisumu, Odinga said fighting stigma will help in lowering the rate of new infections.

“Anybody who is HIV positive should not feel stigmatized but must be embraced by the society,” she said.

She further noted that she will ensure that public awareness about the disease is handled by a larger pool of volunteers to enhance capacity building in the county.

Odinga announced that HIV/AIDS sensitization campaign has been mainstreamed in every sub county.

Her action follows the 8th Annual National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day that was held last month and unveiled the goals of reducing new cases of HIV among older people and supporting those who are living with it already.

The call by Ms. Odinga comes few days after the HIV/AIDS agenda took the center stage at the United Nations Summit where a 1-year-old Kenyan boy with HIV received a standing ovation from hundreds of delegates after delivering the opening remarks at the conference.

Elijah Zachary Lamaiyan Simel, a student at Nyawai Academy in Nairobi, told the UN event on Ending Aids by 2030 that was co-chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, that it is possible to fight HIV/AIDS.

President Kenyatta, while addressing the conference, noted that he is personally committed to Kenya becoming the first country in Africa to control the AIDS epidemic.

The President outlined the initiatives to achieve that objective saying that anti-retroviral drugs must be made available at affordable prices.

“Kenya will advocate for that outcome at the World Trade Organisation summit which will be held in Nairobi in December 2015,” he said.

President Kenyatta noted that as part of Kenya’s efforts to combat the epidemic he had established an HIV situation room within the government.

The office is meant to give easy access to the status of progress in investing in HIV and health in general.