President Robert Mugabe yesterday urged Cabinet ministers and parliamentarians to shun promiscuity and mitigate against the spread of HIV and Aids.
Addressing parliamentarians at the launch of the Zimbabwe Parliamentarians on HIV and Aids (ZIPAH) in Harare, Mugabe said many of his colleagues had succumbed to the deadly disease.
ZIPAH is an initiative by MPs to fight for the eradication of HIV and Aids and is chaired by Kwekwe Central MP Blessing Chebundo.
“A lot of comrades I have worked with have perished and I have said it in Cabinet that quite a number of those who have died succumbed to HIV and Aids — not everybody, but quite a number of them,” Mugabe said.
“Let us not belong to ZIPAH in word, because a lot of Cabinet ministers and legislators are married to one wife but have small houses – we are the culprits and in order to mitigate the spread of HIV/Aids, we will need leadership that is fully prepared to fight the scourge.”
He cautioned although male circumcision was said to reduce chances of contracting the disease by 60%, people should not think they could never get infected if they were promiscuous.
Mugabe later handed over a CD4 count machine donated by the National Aids Council to ZIPAH.
Speaking at the same occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said HIV and Aids contributed towards depletion of potential human capital, hence impacting on the country’s economic growth.
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