FEAR NOT, SAYS ZAMBIA'S PRESIDENT LUNGU.

STEVEN MVULA and MWAPE MWENYA, Lusaka

ZAMBIANS must not fear the newly proclaimed mandatory HIV/ AIDS testing because results, whether positive or negative, will remain confidential between them and their medical practitioners, President Lungu has said.
And the Ministry of Health has said there is no justification or human right in killing yourself by not knowing your HIV status and neither is it a human right to infect others.
President Lungu says he is surprised that some people have misconstrued the mandatory HIV/AIDS testing policy meant to protect ordinary people as something that will make results public.
“People should not be scared to test because they will live longer if they know their HIV status. I wish to clarify that Government declared to the public that we will be examining you whether you want it or not and we will counsel you and tell you that you are HIV-positive and treat you. And that will remain between you and your medical practitioner,” President Lungu said.
He was addressing journalists yesterday at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport shortly before he left for Rwanda to attend today’s inauguration of Paul Kagame, as re-elected President.
President Lungu said he decided to personally comment on the matter because he is getting the impression that when one is found HIV-positive, then those results will be made public.
“Confidentiality remains part of the ethics of the medical practitioners. When we speak to you, we speak in clear and calculated language. We will check for HIV/AIDS, we will counsel you whether you are positive or negative. If you are positive we will treat you if you warrant treatment. That is what I said,” President Lungu said.
He challenged those wishing to take legal action over the matter to do so.
“Some people are saying ‘we will go to court’. Go to court if you want. But me as President, it is my responsibility to ensure Zambians live long, healthy, quality lives. But others are saying it is their constitutional right to privacy. Even in Cabinet they respect the issue of privacy,” President Lungu said.
He said as medical practitioners are taking vital statistics from patients, HIV/AIDS tests will also be undertaken.
The President said Zambians should learn to listen and talk less.
“You are saying ‘Lungu is a dictator’ because he wants to help you by knowing your HIV status so that if your viral load is already beyond, then you are put on medication. Your family needs you, Zambia needs you, if some people do not care about you,” President Lungu said.
He was seen off by Vice-President Inonge Wina, Patriotic Front secretary general Davies Mwila and some ministers.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya says 81 percent of deaths at the University Teaching Hospital are HIV-related, and one million Zambians have died from HIV and AIDS since 1988.
Dr Chilufya said 1.2 million Zambians are HIV positive and less than 85 percent are on anti-retroviral treatment.
He said the American Government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has approved US$401 million for HIV treatment in Zambia.
He said that the Global Fund has also given Zambia US$270 million HIV treatment.
Dr Chilufya warned that Government will deregister health personnel who disclose confidential information about the status of individuals without their consent.
He said the decision should not be misinterpreted as an infringement of human rights as it is aimed at protecting people’s lives.
“Who tells you it’s your human right to kill yourself by not testing? Is it also a human right to infect a young girl? We will not continue doing things the same and expect positive results,” he said.
The minister said this yesterday at the Patriotic Front (PF) media interactive forum.
He said HIV mandatory testing is aimed at saving people’s lives and it should not in any way be politicised.

SOURCE:
http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/fear-not-says-lungu/

Comments

CUBA CLAIMS CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER IS FIDEL CASTRO'S SON.

The suicide note left by Fidel Castro’s eldest son has rocked the Cuban nation this week, with the most astonishing revelation being the claim that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was his half-brother and the son of the late Fidel Castro. The handwritten note left by Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, 68, the eldest of Fidel Castro’s children, appears to confirm the longstanding rumor in Cuba that Fidel Castro fathered Justin Trudeau after a public tryst with Margaret Trudeau in 1970. “ Castro Diaz-Balart, who had been attended by a group of doctors for several months due to a state of profound depression, committed suicide this morning ,” Cubadebate website reported. The death of the high-profile government nuclear scientist, also known as “Fidelito”, or Little Fidel, because of how much he looked like his father, stunned the nation, however it is his “ explosive ” suicide note that has set tongues wagging in Havana. Amid a wide-ranging barrage of complaint

WHY CHINA'S DOG-MEAT MARKET HAS EXPANDED.

Every year during the summer solstice, a dog-eating festival takes place in Yulin, a city in the southern Chinese province of Guangxi. This year’s event ended with the usual controversy. Photographs of dogs being fried or treated cruelly went viral. The Jinhua Hutou Dog Meat Festival, as it is called, was abruptly canceled last week. Animal-rights activists and American congressmen demanded that China ban the eating of dogs and cats, as Taiwan did in April. Yulin’s local government took modest steps to restrain or hide some of the more contentious activities, such as selling dogs in food markets. Still, the festival was packed. Why has the controversial culinary habit become so popular in China? Contrary to cliché, dog meat has not always been a common item in the Chinese diet. Unlike in the West, eating dogs has never been taboo, but it appears to have been rare in the past. Government accounts single out butchers who sold dog meat, suggesting it was unusu

PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA'S SON TO MARRY UGANDAN EX-PRIME MINISTER'S DAUGHTER.

Kampala, UGANDA: Former Uganda Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi is set to become an in-law at the Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the home of the new President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa. John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, SC (simply known as Amama Mbabazi , born 16 January 1949) is a Ugandan politician who served as the ninth Prime Minister of Uganda from 24 May 2011 to 19 September 2014. Image: NP. Mbabazi’s niece, Ms. Bridget Birungi Rwakairu who he raised after her father was killed in the 1980s, will soon be exchanging vows with the South African First Son Mr. Andile Ramaphosa, Mbabazi’s family announced yesterday. The wedding will be preceded by a traditional function known as “Okushaba” which will be held this weekend at Mbabazi’s home on Saturday. 36 year old Bridget Birungi Rwakairu is daughter to Shadrack Rwakairu and Peace Ruhindi. Rwakairu was murdered in 1983 by the UNLA soldiers just five years into his marriage with Mrs Ruhindi. In a statement, Mbab

ZIMBABWE'S VICE-PRESIDENT'S EX-WIFE GOES BANKRUPT.

Harare, ZIMBABWE: Constantino Chiwenga’s ex-wife, Jocelyn and her company Rugnet Ventures, has fallen on hard times and risks losing her residential property in Harare’s leafy Glen Lorne suburb after she failed to repay her $2,6 million CBZ Bank loan. General Constantino Chiwenga's former wife, Jocelyn. The latest development came nearly six years after Jocelyn concluded her messy divorce with the former military commander and shared their vast wealth equally. In summons filed at the High Court on March 9 this year, CBZ Bank cited Jocelyn, her companies Rugnet Ventures (Private) Ltd and Licybuster Investments (Private) Ltd, as co-respondents. The bank is represented by Musendekwa-Mtisi Legal Practitioners, while Jocelyn is self-acting. According to the court papers under case number HC2248/18, sometime in May 2014, the bank entered into a structured loan facility agreement with Rugnet Ventures for $1,3 million at the firm’s special instance and re

PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA'S SON INSULTS EX-PRESIDENT ZUMA'S SON.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's son Tumelo has caused a social media flurry by calling former president Jacob Zuma's son Duduzane a "fool" in a bragging post on Instagram. Yesterday, Ramaphosa's spokeswoman Khusela Diko said Tumelo was a "grown man" who had to answer for himself for his actions. "The president, however, finds such behaviour extremely unfortunate and distasteful and not in keeping with the values he espouses or the manner in which he would expect anyone to conduct themselves." Tumelo, in a brief video posted on his account this week, which was later deleted, took a dig at the son of his father's predecessor after arriving at a Dubai hotel. The video, which had already been saved and was re-posted and retweeted several times by some Instagram and Twitter users, sparked debate. Some users questioned the lack of outrage at Tumelo's remarks and comments, with others speculating on what would have happene

SON OF THE FORMER GUINEA PRESIDENT & HIS WIFE ARRESTED FOR ENSLAVING A WOMAN.

Texas, UNITED STATES: U.S. authorities have arrested the son of a former president of the West African country of Guinea and his wife for allegedly enslaving a countrywoman in their Texas home. Mohamed and Denise Cros-Toure were being held in a federal detention facility Friday pending a probable cause hearing Monday in Fort Worth on a forced labor charge. Toure’s attorney, Brady Wyatt, told The Associated Press that his client is the son of late Guinean President Ahmed Sekou Toure, who helped lead Guinea to independence from French rule in 1958. Sekou Toure was the country’s first president, a role he held until his death in 1984. Ahmed Sékou Touré (January 9, 1922 - March 26, 1984) was a Guinean political leader who was elected as the first President of Guinea, serving from 1958 to his death in 1984. Touré was among the primary Guinean nationalists involved in gaining independence of the country from France. According to an arrest affidavit, the defendants

FORMER CHEF BECOMES A MULTI-MILLIONARE BY POSTING FITNESS PICTURES ON INSTAGRAM.

Perth, AUSTRALIA: A former chef is now making a fortune by sharing fitness photos and videos online. Jem Wolfie, from Perth, Western Australia, has 2.5 million followers on Instagram and says she can make up to $30,000 a day selling photos and videos on subscription site, OnlyFans. After leaving high school and fast-tracking an apprenticeship, the 27-year-old began working 70 hour weeks as a chef. However, she eventually became disillusioned and began seriously pursuing basketball, playing in the Western Australia Basketball League (WABL). But this path was derailed in 2015 when she suffered a serious knee injury. During her rehab, she started posting short videos online, and their popularity quickly ballooned. Now, she has amassed a huge following online and still regularly shares videos of basketball trick-shots. She's also making way more money than she used to, so perhaps that knee injury wasn't so unfortunate after all. Speaking to Perth Now, she said:

CAR STOLEN BY KENYAN EX-MINISTER FOUND ABANDONED.

Nairobi, KENYA: A classic Mercedes Benz stolen from a showroom in Nairobi by former minister Paul Ngei has been found in a deplorable state. Photos of the car which were shared on social media showed it mounted on stones and without wheels, its bonnet wide open and its paint cracking up. The Mercedes Benz 300SEL registration number KNM 190 was a premium car in its heyday. Paul Joseph Ngei (18 October 1923 – 15 August 2004) was a Kenyan politician who was imprisoned for his role in the anti-colonial movement, but who went on to hold several government ministerial positions after Kenya became independent. Paul Ngei walked into the famous car showroom in Nairobi (DT Dobie) in the 1970s and drove away with the vehicle never to return or pay for it. At the time of its release, it was the world's fastest four-door car and when Ngei was pushed to pay for the vehicle, he would always refer the agents to State House and ask them to send the bill there. The rogue minister drove the car for m

DEAD SWAZILAND QUEEN LAID TO REST.

Senteni Masango, the eighth wife of Swaziland’s King Mswati, laid to rest yesterday in line with the Royal Swazi rites. Masango was found dead early Friday morning. She is said to have committed suicide after overdosing on amitriptyline, used in treating chronic pain and depression and related disorders. READ THIS ALSO: KING MSWATI III 8TH WIFE COMMITS SUICIDE FOLLOWING 'ABUSE' The late queen died barely a week after burying her sister Nombuso Masango on Sunday, April 1, at her parent’s home. Reports indicate that King Mswati had barred her from attending her sister’s funeral. Tributes to the queen have started flowing in, led by Swaziland’s Prime Minister Dr. Sibusiso Dlamini who sent government’s condolences to the King, the queen mother and the royal household. “Death is a sad moment for anyone and this one which affects Their Majesties is shared by the country as a whole and as a nation, we are deeply touched at the news of her passing on,”

RWANDA PRESIDENT KAGAME APPOINTMENTS WORLD YOUNGEST MINISTER(19-YEARS OLD).

Kigali, RWANDA: Rwandan President Paul Kagame has just appointed a 19-year-old boy as Minister. Patrick Nkuriza, 19, appointed Minister of New Technologies and Development of Rwanda by President Paul Kagame on Sunday. The Rwandan President who has always insisted on competence, nothing but competence, did not hesitate to materialize his famous saying which says: “ to well-born souls, value does not wait for the number of years”, by naming this young boy. Patrick, is prodigy who experienced a dramatic rise to the point of getting the baccalaureate at 14 and obtaining a PhD in digital communication engineer afterwards. Patrick is a real gifted person who has developed several applications which allow his country to make its activities very efficient in many economic fields. It is therefore right that he is appointed minister in his field. Patrick, who lives with his parents and goes to work accompanied by his father in his car escorted home. Also, it is her mother who washes her cl

Kioo17 Journal

Search This Blog