National Aids Council (NAC) Chairman Bishop Joshua Banda says the high HIV prevalence rate is a national challenge and concern that requires intensive and prevention interventions for both young people and adults.
Bishop Banda was speaking in Lusaka today at a luncheon to honor World Bicycle Relief (WBR) for providing 23,000 new and locally assembled bicycles to RAPIDS caregivers.
Bishop Banda said WBR is responding to a major issue of lack of transport by providing relief to communities affected by the AIDS pandemic.
He said RAPIDS caregivers play a vital role in the communities by looking after orphans and vulnerable children.
Bishop Banda said the bicycles will provide transport to enable caregivers to see and care for their clients more frequently.
He explained that caregivers used to spend hours walking to their clients which could have been used for other developmental issues.
Bishop Banda added the bicycles will help the achieving the goal of NAC in to reducing HIV incidence by 50 percent from base line by 2014.
Speaking earlier United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Melisa Williams said partnerships between home based caregivers and their clients are working to save and improve the quality of people’s lives.
Ms. Williams said the US government is working to better the livelihoods of people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
She said the partnership between the US government and the Zambian government is working to improve the economic, health and educational well being of the Zambian people.
ZANIS
Let’s hope you put this bike’s to good use, because 23000 bicycles are just too many for few people to share, i suspect some will be sold.
Ba chibululu will all benefit from these bicycles.
keep up with the good works many lives have been helped RGDS A NK KAISWE