PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
African Youth meet in Congo over measures to halt HIV/AIDS spread
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The fourth meeting of the Regional Youth Forum against HIV/AIDS (FREJES) opened Wednesday in Brazzaville, the Congolese capital, PANA reported here.
The latest meeting followed those held in other cities with the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) - Bangui, N'Djamena and Yaoundé - at which the Project for AIDS Prevention in Central Africa (PPSAC), implemented in partnership with the German government through the German Development Bank, was discussed.
Through the meetings, CEMAC countries, assisted by the Organization for Coordination of the Fight against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa (OCEAC), make available proposals for young people, especially those aged between 15 and 24 years, to enable them deal with the HIV/AIDS scourge.
According to UNAIDS, every day, more than 6,800 people are infected with the HIV virus and more than 5,700 people die of AIDS due to the lack of proper access to prevention and treatment.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, and AIDS is still one of the leading causes of mortality, with nearly 70 per cent of all people infected worldwide.
"The conference will prove that young people in the Central Africa sub-region want to be stakeholders in the global mobilization against HIV and AIDS. It is normal that young people are mobilizing as well, since they constitute over a quarter of humanity. They carry the germ vital for the survival of mankind and their most promising projects and dreams should in no way be left under the threat of the scourge of HIV/AIDS," said assistant Representative of the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) in Congo, Benedict Libal.
FREJES activities are designed to work towards reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst students and youth in schools and universities.
-0- PANA MB/JSG/JEN/VAO 16Dec2010
The latest meeting followed those held in other cities with the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) - Bangui, N'Djamena and Yaoundé - at which the Project for AIDS Prevention in Central Africa (PPSAC), implemented in partnership with the German government through the German Development Bank, was discussed.
Through the meetings, CEMAC countries, assisted by the Organization for Coordination of the Fight against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa (OCEAC), make available proposals for young people, especially those aged between 15 and 24 years, to enable them deal with the HIV/AIDS scourge.
According to UNAIDS, every day, more than 6,800 people are infected with the HIV virus and more than 5,700 people die of AIDS due to the lack of proper access to prevention and treatment.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, and AIDS is still one of the leading causes of mortality, with nearly 70 per cent of all people infected worldwide.
"The conference will prove that young people in the Central Africa sub-region want to be stakeholders in the global mobilization against HIV and AIDS. It is normal that young people are mobilizing as well, since they constitute over a quarter of humanity. They carry the germ vital for the survival of mankind and their most promising projects and dreams should in no way be left under the threat of the scourge of HIV/AIDS," said assistant Representative of the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) in Congo, Benedict Libal.
FREJES activities are designed to work towards reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst students and youth in schools and universities.
-0- PANA MB/JSG/JEN/VAO 16Dec2010
