Kathmandu,
Dec. 1:
With sports as medium to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS, the United
Nations Nepal, World Health Organization (WHO) and Trail Running Nepal jointly
commemorated the 30th World Aids Day urging people to adopt healthy
lifestyle and scale up testing for HIV.
More than 250 people participated in the trail race running or walking
the distances of either 7km or 12km showing solidarity with people living with
HIV/AIDS and promoting the message to scale up testing for HIV.
The
run was a part of Kathmandu Trail Race Series, a short distance race, organized by Trail Running Nepal every
month.
World Aids Day, a pioneering global health campaign first
initiated by WHO in 1988, has turned 30 on
Saturday and is being celebrated globally under the theme “know your status” because,
according to WHO, one out of four
people with HIV don’t know they have it. This is primarily due to lacking access to treatment and fearing the
social stigma, said the UN.
“This day is an
opportunity for all of us to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support
for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have lost their lives
from an AIDS-related illness,” said Resident Coordinator of the UN Nepal
Valerie Julliand.
“It is imperative for us to break the
social stigma regarding the HIV/AIDS which will encourage more people to get
tested and access treatment if found infected.”
The progress in the fight against
HIV/AIDS has been however significant globally, with a major reduction in new
infections and 34% reduction in AIDS related deaths.
This
progress has given a vision of ending AIDS by 2030 and countries across the
globe have committed themselves to achieve Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), goal 3, which pertains to “end the epidemic of AIDS” by 2030.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 2 December 2018.
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