Luanda - The Vice-President of Angola, Bornito de Sousa Monday called for the need of a deep reflection on the fight against HIV/AIDS.
In a message alluding to the World AIDS Day, held on December 1, Bornito de Sousa considers it the ideal moment for each one to impose him / herself, giving better sense to solidarity and love to others.
"Let us be able to say no to stigma and discrimination", reads the message.
According to the note, this is also an opportunity to remember all those who lost their lives due to AIDS.
For the Vice President, if HIV alone is already a tough challenge for states, families, businesses and economies, its combination with Covid-19 results in an even more difficult and complex obstacle that can only be overcome with solidarity and shared responsibility.
The world entered, in 2020, the last decade of action to end AIDS as a threat to public health.
According to the note, this goal is achievable if there is more funding for health, if there are strong, functional and efficient health systems, if access to primary health care is guaranteed, and if human rights are considered and respected.
The note reinforces that this is the golden opportunity to unite voices, generate synergies and show to Angola and the world that those living with HIV "will continue to be, as always, one of us".
Being infected with HIV does not mean being away, excluded, finished or forgotten: "For years, thanks to new forms of treatment, it has been possible to move forward and to have a normal life," the document states.
The source pointed to the end of stigmatization and discrimination, highlighting solidarity as a catalyst for will, progress, and economic and social development.
"Let us make solidarity our main weapon in the fight against AIDS and all evils that affect and endanger our way of being and being in society, in community, in family", the official said.
Angola registers, on average, 26,000 new HIV infections and 13,000 AIDS-related deaths per year.
The number of women living with HIV is of 210,000, 49,000 young people between 15 and 24 years of age and 31 children between zero and 14 years of age.
The data indicate that Angola has a vertical transmission rate of 19.36 percent, with a total of 776,991 AIDS orphans.
The country controls 350,000 Angolans living with HIV and only 93,000 are receiving antiretroviral treatment.
