Room: MH1
Reporter: UMUBYEYI BENIE RAISSA AND MAHORO GISELE

The session brought together different speakers from different organizations including HIV- AIDS advocates and representatives of the faith base organisations. Rev Canon Prof Gideon B. Byamugisha, a priest from Uganda who is opening living with HIV, told the audience how his been able to live opening with his HIV status, had enabled him make the needed to call for people to know their HIV status. He emphasized that the call for people to test to know their status should be made with empathy. These calls are not ones to be made from a cultural or religious perspectives. It should be handled as a public health response that is people centred.

He emphasized that everyone must have that goal of zero transmission but this will only be achieved if everyone has the courage to take a HIV test and feel free to live with their status without the fear of stigma and discrimination. The HIV slogan is often promoted as a fight. You only fight what you know he said. For this reason, everyone needs to know their HIV status to be able to collectively take up the fight.

The 2nd speaker, Professor Miriam, an HIV/AIDS advocate for children and young women, continued the session by emphasizing the role of political leaders in the fight against HIV. He said the ex-president of Zambia used his personal funds to put people living with HIV on treatment in an effort to reduce HIV related deaths. They also had a political leader who publicly declared his son died of AIDS though the society felt he did the wrong thing. He felt these were very good examples for other leaders to emulate of how leaders can use their power to save the world. He congratulated Rwanda for their ability to reach the 90-90-90 goal before the timeline, and concluded the session by calling on all people to hold public dialogues about HIV.

Key message from the session: Every people irrespective of age, and leaders from different sectors should use their power and resources to protect themselves and others. The session brought together different speakers from different organizations including HIV- AIDS advocates and representatives of the faith base organisations. Rev Canon Prof Gideon B. Byamugisha, a priest from Uganda who is opening living with HIV, told the audience how his been able to live opening with his HIV status, had enabled him make the needed to call for people to know their HIV status. He emphasized that the call for people to test to know their status should be made with empathy. These calls are not ones to be made from a cultural or religious perspectives. It should be handled as a public health response that is people centred.

He emphasized that everyone must have that goal of zero transmission but this will only be achieved if everyone has the courage to take a HIV test and feel free to live with their status without the fear of stigma and discrimination. The HIV slogan is often promoted as a fight. You only fight what you know he said. For this reason, everyone needs to know their HIV status to be able to collectively take up the fight.

The 2nd speaker, Professor Miriam, an HIV/AIDS advocate for children and young women, continued the session by emphasizing the role of political leaders in the fight against HIV. He said the ex-president of Zambia used his personal funds to put people living with HIV on treatment in an effort to reduce HIV related deaths. They also had a political leader who publicly declared his son died of AIDS though the society felt he did the wrong thing. He felt these were very good examples for other leaders to emulate of how leaders can use their power to save the world. He congratulated Rwanda for their ability to reach the 90-90-90 goal before the timeline, and concluded the session by calling on all people to hold public dialogues about HIV.

Key message from the session: Every people irrespective of age, and leaders from different sectors should use their power and resources to protect themselves and others.