Tanzania: Govt Sets Aside 5bn/-for Youths Living With Aids

By Daily News Reporter in Dodoma

THE government has set aside 5bn/-for empowering and improving the livelihoods of

young people living with HIV/Aids (NYP+).

The announcement was made recently by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled) Jenista Mhagama in a meeting by the Network of Young People Living with HIV/Aids-under the national council of people living with HIV (Nacopha).

Ms Mhagama said the government last week had launched an empowerment programme implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Trade and Industry and that about 5bn/-had been set aside for the progamme.

Nacopha under the auspices of USAID had convened young people living with HIV/Aids so that they could air their needs to the Prime Minister's Office, which aims at improving their lives.

NYP+under its campaign dubbed 'Ebu Tuyajenge' sought to push for their needs to the government after seeking to meet Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

The PM sent Ms Mhagama to represent him at a meeting, where the latter pledged to work on all their needs.

Presenting their needs before the minister, NYP+ Chairperson Pudenciana Mbwiliza appealed to the government to provide best services for young people living with HIV/Aids so that they could participate in national development building.

"We also want to see the government put in place a strategic plan for economic empowerment especially for people living with HIV/Aids," she said.

Ms Mbwiliza further requested the Prime Minister to be the guardian of NYP+ due to the fact that Mr Majaliwa had always been in the frontline on raising public awareness on voluntary testing.

A recent HIV/Aids indicators survey indicates that about 40 per cent of the youth in the country are living with HIV/Aids out of which 80 per cent of the population are girls.

This is why Nacopha in collaboration with USAID decided to help the youth meet the officials from the Prime Minister's Office to push for their needs.

The meeting was also attended by the Tanzania Commission for Aids (Tacaids) Executive Director, Dr Leonard Maboko. Tacaids is an Independent Department under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Nacopha is the umbrella organisation established by people living with HIV/Aids (PLHIV) to serve as the apex body and ultimate voice to advocate issues and concerns of the PLHIV in Tanzania. At the meeting, Nacopha was represented by the chairperson of an organisation, Ms Leticia Kapela.