FORMER Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, who lost a son to AIDS, is expected to participate in an awareness campaign tagged: Lagos AIDS Walk, on April 21 in Lagos.
The 10-kilometre walk, organised by Biire Child and Maternal Health Foundation, Lagos, will be flagged off by Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Executive Director of the foundation, Dr. Dare Ajayi, told reporters in Lagos yesterday that the walk would increase HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention and discourage stigmatisation.
Ajayi, who said the event is in collaboration with the Lagos State Agency for the Control of AIDS (LSACA) and other stakeholders, decried the high rate of infected persons in Lagos.
He said: “It is necessary to increase awareness in a city such as Lagos where more than 500,000 people are said to be infected with HIV, with an additional three per cent of the population being infected out of ignorance.
“There is still a lot of ignorance about AIDS and this is why the rate of affected persons in the country is still very high.
“It is important to create adequate awareness for the prevention of the disease to reduce its burden on the state and the nation.’’
According to him, Lagos has the highest number of people living with HIV and there is need to create more awareness.
He, however, noted that the 12 per cent of the population in Benue State living with HIV was less than the five per cent of people living with the virus in Lagos, considering the population difference.
Ajayi said the walk would raise awareness on existing laws against discrimination and stigmatisation of affected persons.
It is also to advocate for more political will and corporate support toward HIV prevention, treatment, care and support as well as to raise funds for AIDS campaigns.
The walk is opened to the public. It will start at 10am from the Ebute-Meta end of the Third Mainland Bridge and pass through Adeniji Adele and terminate at the Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos Island.
TheNation