On Friday, the 1st of December 2017, the world commemorated World AIDS day, with the objective of increasing awareness about HIV/AIDS, eliminating new HIV infections and “End AIDS by 2022”, as well as a call to action, commitment and unity to the elimination of new HIV infections and ending AIDS deaths. This year, Swaziland’s national commemoration event took place at the Sigwe Inkundla in Shiselweni. The keynote address was delivered by Acting Prime Minister, Senator Paul Dlamini who stated that an enormous amount of progress has been made across the world, further noting the partnerships which have been made between governments, communities, nongovernmental organisations and generous development partners such as USAID, PEPFAR and the Global Fund. He emphasized that “Ending AIDS in Swaziland by 2022 is an objective we must turn into a reality. HIV prevention is an essential component of ending AIDS in our families, communities and across the country”.

Also in attendance was US Ambassador to Swaziland, Lisa Peterson, who stated how impressed she was with the progress the country has made in the fight against HIV. “While we can envisage the end result of an AIDS-free generation, we must also take into account that the final lap to reach that goal is going to be the most challenging and critical stage”. She added that thanks to PEPFAR, we now have an opportunity to accelerate our impact and change the course of the pandemic through transparency, accountability, and partnerships.

As is the norm, organisations working towards achieving the goal of “Ending AIDS by 2022” were present at the event, with pitched stalls, information materials, ready to sensitize the Sigwe community on their different interventions and projects. The Ministry of Health’s HMIS Unit had a stall promoting the Client Management Information Systems project, and were conducting client registrations, and educating the community about this new initiative which is being rolled out in health facilities nationwide. The team registered over 100 clients on the day. This activity forms part of the goal of sensitizing the communities in Swaziland about the CMIS project which IHM Southern Africa is supporting through USAID/PEPFAR.