Over 100,000 people were sensitised in the North West Region.
Curtains dropped on the 2015 AIDS-free Holidays campaign in metropolitan Bamenda on September 10, 2015, with strong recommendations for drastic changes in lifestyles to remain healthy. Also, the commitment of the campaign’s initiator, First Lady Chantal Biya, to inspire hope in the future with an AIDS-free generation, was topical.
Conceived in 2003 to create awareness and reduce the risk of contamination of Sexually-transmitted Diseases, STIs and HIV/AIDS among young people, AIDS-free Holidays campaigns take credit as annual events that recruit, train and deploy young people to sensitise on behavioral change attitudes. It was a rare moment for the population of the North West to show gratitude to the First Lady, Founding President of African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, and Special UNAIDS Ambassador, Chantal Biya for inspiration and selfless generosity.
The Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, Ndumu Nji Vincent and Peer Educators, saluted her humanitarian support for the health and welfare of Cameroonians, especially vulnerable groups. The Executive Secretary of African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, Jean Stephane Biatcha, stressed that First Lady Chantal Biya has a special concern for the health of the nation’s youths, especially during holidays when excesses are common. He said the campaign is a means to educate youths to change behaviour, urging the public to be vigilant and more responsible in the fight against AIDS. Jean Stephane Biatcha urged Peer Educators to rise to expectation because they have become part of the First Lady’s team to fight HIV/AIDS.
North West Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique was in the chair when CERAC women, led by their Coordinator, Linda Yang, North West elite and guests, cheered what Jean Stephane Biatcha described as “a fantastic event” in Bamenda. The Governor paid tribute to the First Lady for the regular mobilisation of material and financial support for annual AIDS-free Holiday campaigns in her commitment to have a healthy population for nation-building. Attestations, school reopening parcels and exhibitions, were part of the event.
The 13th edition involved over 500 Peer Educators and it emerged from the Bamenda event that the youths were involved in three weeks of intensive inter-personal communication and group discussions where young people were mobilised to go for voluntary HIV testing and counseling. They also used social media to raise awareness on HIV. “Chicks say no to AIDS,” was the theme of this year’s campaign. The North West Coordinator of the Technical Group for the Fight Against HIV, Dr Gladys Tayong, revealed that the campaign in the region held 37,368 educative discussions after reaching out to 103,700 people. In all, 4,245 people were tested for HIV in the North West Region.
