By Alfred Kollie email: alfredkolliejr92@gmail.com
If Liberians must win the war against HIV/AIDS in the Country, they must renew their commitment to fight the spread of the disease, the Chair of the National AIDS Commission of Liberia (NAC) has said in Monrovia.
Madam Theodosia S. Kolee Kolee said HIV/AIDS is currently classified as a chronic illness, and warned against complacency. She said the fight against the disease is everyone’s business.
The (NAC) is an autonomous agency that oversees national HIV/AIDS response in Liberia.
The first attempt to establish the National AIDS Commission was made in 2000. But it was not until June 2007 that it was formally reconstituted to promote a more multisectoral response beyond the health sector.
Madam Kolee said ‘the prevalence rate of the disease is on the increase due to surge in high-risk behaviors in communities across the country.’
The Commission, according to her, has undergone tremendous transformation over the last few months under her leadership, and has been working with the Ministry of Health (MOH), UNAIDS and UNDP to ensure that shortage of AVRs at the facility level is a thing of the past.
Speaking recently when UNAIDS donated T-shirts and jackets to the Armed Forces of Liberia at the EBK Health Center in Margibi, the NAC Chairman Kolee said the donation serves as symbol of AFL commitment to helping win the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.
“It is indeed a great pleasure for me and my team at the National AIDS Commission to be a part of this program marking the turnover of T-shirts and jackets by UNAIDS to the Armed forces of Liberia’’ She said.
Theodosia Kolee: “The role our Army continues to play in the fight against HIV and indeed other microscopic enemies of humanity cannot be overemphasized in the country’’.
The AFL was among national institutions that played pivotal role in ending the Ebola outbreak in 2014 in Liberia, though its contribution to the fight against the disease was then marred by the firing of live bullets into a crowd protesting unfavorable conditions who were at the time quarantined. That led to the death of a child identified as Shaki Kamara.
Madam Kolee however said for the first time in many years, Liberia is on the path to making gains in achieving some of the international goals in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Also speaking at the ceremony, the UNAIDS Country Director, Madam Marian Chipomo called on Liberians to take the fight against the pandemic serious, as the virus was rapidly spreading in the country.
She challenged citizens to know their status noting that many are carrying the virus who do not know their status something; something she noted undermines the campaign.
For his part, Col Theophanous A. Dana of the Armed Forces of Liberia thanked UNAIDS for the donation, promising that the army will continue to carry out awareness across the country.
The UNAIDS presented 100 T-shirts and 100 jackets for us by soldiers during awareness in communities across the country.