By Correspondent
Friday Simbaya, Songea
TANZANIA Commission
for Aids (TACAIDS) Ruvuma region coordinator Emmanuel Petro has urged district
councils and other stakeholders not to perceive HIV/Aids as a donor pandemic but
it is importance for all stakeholders to see as it as a problem of all.
He said that in order to prevent the further spread of HIV
among the population, all stakeholders involved in HIV/Aids activities must
ensure that the entire population is reached with quality and sustainable
services for prevention, care and treatment and impact mitigation.
Petro made the statement during the just ended two-day meeting
of evaluation of HIV/Aids –related initiatives
which were being implemented by the district councils held at Peramiho and involved District Aids Control Coordinators (DACC)
and Council HIV/AIDS Coordinators (CHAC) from Songea municipality, Songea Rural,
Namtumbo, Mbinga and Tunduru in Ruvuma Region.
The meeting was aimed at analyzing the HIV/Aids activities mentored
by the Local Government Authorities (LGA) in Ruvuma Region whether they were
implemented as per national HIV/Aids guidelines.
However, the regional coordinator has advised the LGAs to
set aside funds from the council budgets for monitoring and evaluation for assessing
the HIV/Aids activities that is implemented by Civil Society Organizations (CSO),
NGOs, Faith Based Organizations (FBO) and Community Based Organizations (CBO).
According to Tanzania HIV/Aids and Malaria Indictors Survey
(THMIS, 2007/8), 5.7 percent of Tanzanians aged 15-49 live with HIV, which as
about two million people. Thousand of people have died; leaving behind a number
of orphans hence the magnitude of the infections to community. The rate of
infection in Ruvuma Region is 5.8 percent which is 0.1 percent higher than the
national average of 5.7 percent.
Based on this background the government has decided to
launch a comprehensive program to respond to the HIV pandemic and alleviate its
negative impact. The national multicultural strategy framework (NMSF) set
direction of the government’s response across all levels of government.
The Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’
Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG) M.K Tarishi said
NMSF mobilizes responses from all sectors; different levels of the
government, private sector, CSOs and communities at large.
Tarishi said planning package developed by TACAIDS in
collaborations with German Developing Cooperation (GDC) called ‘The Essential
for HIV and AIDS Planning Package’ is planning package that translates the
strategic goals of second NMSF (2008-2012) into operational targets and
activities.
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