Zambian Civil Society Calls for Leadership to Achieve Universal Access article
By Arnold Tutu
On 1 December, 2007, Zambians across the country joined the global World AIDS Day commemorations. Families, communities, civil society organisations and businesses were encouraged to become involved in providing stronger leadership in HIV.
The events ranged from political statements to candlelight vigils and workshops attended by former African heads of state.
Momentum towards the day started building in Livingstone when former republican president, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, convened a workshop attended by former African heads of state on 22 November at the Sun Hotel.
The workshop was hosted by AIDSCOM, a Johannesburg based trust founded in 2005 to raise awareness and mobilise leadership against the pandemic in collaboration with a Zambian non-governmental organisation, Trust for Collective Action on HIV and AIDS in Zambia (TCAHZa). It was further supported by OXFAM and the United Nations Development Programme.
“We leaders must take personal action. We commit ourselves to working with all stakeholders to ensure that the issue of HIV and AIDS remains on top of our agendas,” reads the joint communiqué issues by the leaders.
On the part of civil society, a joint effort called the Zambia AIDS Campaign, composed of several organisations among them the Zambia AIDS Law Research and Advocacy Network (ZARAN), Treatment Advocacy Literacy Campaign (TALC) and Youth Vision Zambia, took the lead on World AIDS Day by issuing joint statements and participating in other events as individual organisations.
In a joint press statement issued by ZARAN and TALC, the two organisations lamented that people living with HIV in rural areas are still not able to access the full range of AIDS treatment services.
The organisations also organised activities in their individual capacities. ZARAN produced posters and other information, educational and communication materials and aired a radio programme and a television documentary. TALC, as part of their World AIDS Day activities, participated in an hour-long radio programme on Hot 96.8 FM on 1 December, to discuss leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Felix Mwanza of TALC was forthright in condemning the Zambian government’s failure to provide adequate leadership in the provision of universal access. He challenged political leaders to make a shift from merely making speeches about HIV and AIDS to practically taking the lead.
Mwanza, when questioning the political leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS, noted the failure by most politicians to publicly go for HIV tests as an example of their lack of leadership.
On the eve of World AIDS Day an interfaith candlelight service was held at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka. The service, attended by people from major religious groupings in the country as well as top government and private sector officials, and graced by vice president Rupiah Banda, was organised by the Zambia Inter Faith Networking Group (ZINGO).
Another notable activity on World AIDS Day saw Local Government Minister Sylvia Masebo, lead journalists and Lusaka’s Chawama township residents in undergoing voluntary counselling and testing as a way of demonstrating leadership in the fight against AIDS.
Miriam Banda, National chairperson of the Network of People living with HIV (NZP+), challenged top political and government leaders to declare their HIV positive status noting that it was one way they would help demystify HIV and AIDS as a poor man or woman’s disease.