World AIDS Day

Bo-Me le bo-Ntate, Khotsong! Allow me to pay my respects to:

His Majesty King Letsie III,

The Right Honourable Prime Minister,

Honourable President of Senate,

Honourable Speaker of The National Assembly,

Her Ladyship the Chief Justice,

His Lordship the President of The Court of Appeal,

Honourable Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly

Honourable Deputy Prime Minister;

Honourable Members of His Majesty’s Cabinet,

Their Lordships Judges of The High Court,

Members of The Diplomatic Corps,

Honourable Members of Parliament,

College of Chiefs,

Heads of Churches of the Christian Council of Lesotho,

The Government Secretary,

The Chief Executive of the National AIDS Commission,

Chairpersons of Statutory Bodies and Principal Secretaries,

Government Officials,

My Colleagues from the UN Family in Lesotho,

Local Government Authorities, Heads of Academic Institutions

Representatives of The Private Sector, CSOs and Media Houses,

Principal Chief,

Area Chief,

The Councillor of Berea,

District Administrator,

Distinguished Guests, Bo Mme le Bo Ntate,

All protocol observed,

On behalf of the UN System in Lesotho, I am very pleased to deliver this short message as we commemorate the 31st World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is an important moment for those who play a role in the response, i.e. just about everybody.  On World AIDS Day, we stop, we look back, we take stock and we celebrate our collective achievements.  Sadly, on World AIDS Day, we also remember those that we have lost to the pandemic and we show solidarity with those infected and/or affected.  More importantly, on World AIDS Day, we come together to re-commit, re-energize and renew our collective determination to act on the epidemic.  Today, we are fortunate to have our top leaders here in Berea.  Your Majesties, Right Honorable Prime Minister, thank you for being with us.  Your presence is a strong encouragement to actors, those who are here and those who are not.    

This World AIDS Day 2019 has been placed under the theme "Communities make the difference".  By “communities”, I mean the men, women and young people who are at the frontline of the response.  I mean the members of support groups, associations, NGOs, faith-based organizations, DREAMS champions, youth groups, etc.  I mean all of you who day in and day out give your modest but consistent contribution to the response in your school, your village or your community.  By dedicating this WAD to communities, the world acknowledges the key role that Communities play in the AIDS response.  So today I wish to say to you: thank you for your work, thank you for your commitment, thank you for your courage and your determination.  I want you to know that the work that you do when you support each other, when you support orphans and widows, when you bring hope to the desperate, I want you to know that that work is invaluable.  The networks of people living with or affected by HIV,  sex workers, gay men and other men who have sex with men,  women and young people, counsellors, community health workers, door-to-door service providers, civil society organizations, HIV champions, community leaders and  activists- you make up a moving force that  is  keeping people at the center of action.  Thank you for being the movers and the shakers of the AIDS response in the Mountain Kingdom. 

So yes indeed, communities make a difference… and a big one!

Your Majesties, Right Honorable Prime Minister, Bo Mme le Bo Ntate,

Lesotho has committed to Ending the AIDS Epidemic as a Public Health threat by 2030.   This is a critical part of the Sustainable Development Goals which aim to ensure good health for all by 2030.   With the Fast Track initiative, the world has set itself ambitious targets of ensuring that 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% of HIV+ people are on treatment and 90% achieve viral suppression.  This aspiration cannot be achieved without the active participation of communities and their concerted and intensified efforts to leave no one behind.  And Lesotho has made significant  progress in this connection.

The enabling environment that has been created by Government as evidenced by progressive policies and practices ensures that the human rights of everyone affected by HIV are respected.   We acknowledge and commend these efforts.   Due to the prioritization of HIV in its development efforts partners can provide support and help to work towards reaching the targets.  

This WAD, we should remind each other that HIV is not over in the World.   In Lesotho we still have way too many people getting newly infected with HIV and as a result we have one of the highest prevalence in the World.  Prevention services are not yet reaching all those who need them due to various structural barriers that must be addressed.   This means that we still need to do a lot of work to change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic in order to attain Sustainable Development Goals.

In its National Strategic plan on HIV and AIDS, Lesotho has set the target that at least 40% of the HIV/TB response will be community-led and sustainable by 2023. This means that we need to do all that is required to support the Communities - people living with HIV and people affected by HIV - to enable them to lead and be accountable. This urges us to take bold steps and urgent action, for the greater mobilization of communities and address gaps in scaling up services.   We need to support communities by ensuring that they have access to services, address existing barriers in legislation and policies, ensure sustainable financing for effective community engagement in the response.

UN Lesotho stands ready to continue supporting the country in achieving national priorities to end AIDS as a Public Health Threat and attain good health for all.  Strong, informed, healthy and resilient communities are essential for the country’s development.

We are almost reaching the end of this fight – we have the science, the knowledge, and the will to achieve results.   Let us join together in partnership for our Communities to make a difference.   Let us work harder to make Lesotho an AIDS free Nation by achieving zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS deaths, and zero discrimination!

Your Majesties, Right Honorable Prime Minister,

With these few remarks, please allow me to read you a statement by the UN Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres on this occasion:

I QUOTE

Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, as we committed to in the Sustainable Development Goals, will require a continuous collaborative effort.  The United Nations, Governments, civil society and other partners have been working together to scale up access to health services and to halt new HIV infections.  More than 23 million people living with HIV were receiving treatment in 2018.

Communities around the world are at the heart of this response — helping people to claim their rights, promoting access to stigma‑free health and social services, ensuring that services reach the most vulnerable and marginalized, and pressing to change laws that discriminate.  As the theme of this year’s observance rightly highlights, communities make the difference.

Yet unmet needs remain.  A record 38 million people are living with HIV and resources for the response to the epidemic declined by $1 billion last year.  More than ever we need to harness the role of community‑led organizations that advocate for their peers, deliver HIV services, defend human rights and provide support.

Where communities are engaged, we see change happen.  We see investment lead to results.  And we see equality, respect and dignity.  With communities, we can end AIDS”. 

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