BY MWINYI SADALLAH
28th June 2013
The use of infected needles has increased HIV transmissions in Zanzibar as revealed by the Minister of State from the office of the First Vice President Fatma Abdulhabib Fereji, when presenting budget estimates for the office of the First Vice President of Zanzibar in the fiscal year 2013/2014.
With only 1.3m in population, Zanzibar’s transmission rate has increased from 0.6 percent 2011 to one percent and the minister noted that the situation requires concerted effort by the government and citizens to curb and revert.
In that wise, minister Fereji reported that the Commission has helped 22 wards generate plans to fight the trend against and so far a community of people living with Hiv/Aids (ZAPHA+) has been built and empowered with a high capacity to fundraise and it had already collected 551.4/-m by March, this year.
However, she said that the Commission of AIDS Zanzibar is still facing a budget deficit, pointing out that the amount they have received from the government for development works is only 15m/- of requested 50/-m but 1.1/-bn in donor funds has been issued to bridge the shortage.
Minister Fereji said that this year the Commission has planned four goals including coordinating and overseeing the implementations of policies, law and second national strategy of combating Aids, enhance the quality of data collection, coordinating issues of news defence and communication concerning Aids so as to simulate moral changes in the societies in the island.
Of the drug abuse problem grappling the Island and occasioning the increase of transmissions, minister Fereji said 22 people are in custody facing drug trafficking charges and that the government has begun to prepare draft regulations to combat drugs in Zanzibar.
Also, she reported that the government was running a drug abuse campaign to raise awareness in students on the effects of drug abuse and so far 6,270 students from some 45 schools have been reached.
With only 1.3m in population, Zanzibar’s transmission rate has increased from 0.6 percent 2011 to one percent and the minister noted that the situation requires concerted effort by the government and citizens to curb and revert.
In that wise, minister Fereji reported that the Commission has helped 22 wards generate plans to fight the trend against and so far a community of people living with Hiv/Aids (ZAPHA+) has been built and empowered with a high capacity to fundraise and it had already collected 551.4/-m by March, this year.
However, she said that the Commission of AIDS Zanzibar is still facing a budget deficit, pointing out that the amount they have received from the government for development works is only 15m/- of requested 50/-m but 1.1/-bn in donor funds has been issued to bridge the shortage.
Minister Fereji said that this year the Commission has planned four goals including coordinating and overseeing the implementations of policies, law and second national strategy of combating Aids, enhance the quality of data collection, coordinating issues of news defence and communication concerning Aids so as to simulate moral changes in the societies in the island.
Of the drug abuse problem grappling the Island and occasioning the increase of transmissions, minister Fereji said 22 people are in custody facing drug trafficking charges and that the government has begun to prepare draft regulations to combat drugs in Zanzibar.
Also, she reported that the government was running a drug abuse campaign to raise awareness in students on the effects of drug abuse and so far 6,270 students from some 45 schools have been reached.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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