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Two African Social Media Influencers Living with HIV to Address UNGA
Two African Social Media Influencers Living with HIV to Address UNGA
By: Michael Mike
Two young social media influencers living with HIV with the support of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) are on their way to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Summit of the Future in New York to urge world leaders to partner with them in the response to HIV.
The two, Ibanomonde Ngema from South Africa and Jerop Lima from Kenya, according to a statement on Thursday by UNAIDS, will call on leaders to invest in youth-friendly health systems, provide holistic services for young people living with HIV, and to partner with young people and communities, allowing them to lead in the response to HIV.
Executive Director of UNAIDS. Winnie Byanyima said: “Young people’s powerful and vibrant activism has driven so much of the progress made in the HIV response,” adding that: “They know what works for them. It is essential for leaders to listen to them to understand the specific challenges that young people face and how those challenges can be overcome. Leaders can only successfully plan how to end AIDS and sustain the advances made by partnering with young people living with HIV.”
The young Kenyan HIV activist. Jerop Limo, said: “I am representing not only the voices of 1.5 million Kenyans living with HIV but all people living with HIV,” adding that: “I want leaders to leave New York knowing that we are not beneficiaries, we are equal rights holders. We have a voice, we have skills and expertise and we need an equal playing field where our data is valued, where our input is valued and where our voices are heard. We want meaningful and ethical engagement of adolescents and young people in all spaces of the AIDS response.”
According to the statement, young people, especially adolescent girls and young women, are disproportionately affected by HIV. Globally, 44% of all new HIV infections were among women and girls (all ages) in 2023 and every week 4000 young women and girls around the world are infected with HIV—3100 are in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, some 3.1 million adolescents and young people (15-24 yrs) were living with HIV—1.9 million were adolescent girls and young women.
Ibanomonde Ngema, a young South African AIDS activist, said: “Governments meeting here in New York cannot end AIDS alone. They need to involve us to find solutions. We have lived experiences of HIV, from treatment to mental health, because we navigate life with HIV every day. We need to be included in policymaking so that we can take full ownership of ending end AIDS as a public threat,”
He noted that: “The world can only benefit when young people are included in the global HIV response. No conversation about HIV should take place without us, from policy to practice in communities.”
The safety decried that too often young people report facing stigma and discrimination, including from doctors and healthcare workers, when they access sexual and reproductive health and HIV services. This discourages them from seeking support and crucial information about their health, putting them at risk of HIV infection or of defaulting on treatment for those who are living with HIV.
The statement added that young people living with HIV play a critical role in the fight against AIDS in communities. They offer support and share important information about HIV that schools or parents might not talk about. They also challenge stigma and discrimination through social media, helping to save lives and encourage young people to stay on treatment.
It also added that they drive innovation in communities, for example, a self-funded project by the Youth Empowerment Group uses e-bikes to deliver antiretroviral medicines, food and adherence support to young people who often cannot attend clinics because their schooling hours conflict with clinic opening times in Namibia.
However, their transformational work is being held back because it is not being sufficiently supported. Youth-led HIV responses often operate with little or no financial and political support. At the UNGA the two young people will call on world leaders to fully support and fund their work. They will also urge leaders to uphold the human rights of young people as key to ending AIDS as a public health threat—they will call on them to protect young people’s right to healthcare, education, freedom of speech, and to provide social support to young people living with HIV.
Jerop Lima said: “Providing treatment is not enough, young people living with HIV need an education and they need a job to survive,” adding that: “We need to be seen as equal contributors and partners, and we need investment to allow us drive change. We are the leaders of the future and we need to be included now to help shape a better future for us all.”
Two African Social Media Influencers Living with HIV to Address UNGA
News
Zulum Says Borno Government Will Supports Plan to Upgrade Maiduguri Airport to International Status
Zulum Says Borno Government Will Supports Plan to Upgrade Maiduguri Airport to International Status
By: Michael Mike
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has assured the minister of aviation and aerospace, Mr Festus Keyamo, of his administration’s support as the ministry announced a plan to upgrade the Muhammadu Buhari Airport, Maiduguri to international status.
Zulum gave the assurance on Monday during a visit to the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
He said: “As the chairman of northeast governor’s and this is our first International Airport, I want to assure of the political will needed to ensure the implementation of this laudable stride.”
The governor emphasised that Maiduguri being a gateway for most countries around Lake Chad and Central Africa, would stimulate economic development in the northeast region by upgrading the airport.
Speaking earlier, the aviation minister assured that Muhammadu Buhari Airport would take off as a full International Airport on January 1, 2025, noting that all the takeoff preparations have been concluded and that relevant government agencies have been notified of the development.
The minister expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving the upgrade of Muhammadu Buhari Airport, Maiduguri, stressing that of all the geopolitical zones, only the northeast has no full International airport in the country.
Zulum was accompanied on the visit by senators Mohammed Ali Ndume, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, and Kaka Shehu Lawan, who represent Borno South, North and Central, respectively.
Borno APC Chairman Hon. Bello Ayuba, Deputy Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Engr Abdullahi Musa Askira and other senior government officials were also present on the visit.
Zulum Says Borno Government Will Supports Plan to Upgrade Maiduguri Airport to International Status
Black with Nigerian Root Seek Citizenship
…Promise to invest trillion dollars in Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
Black men across the globe whose forefathers were taken as slaves from the African continent but recent DNA test have shown to be Nigerians have pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to offer them Nigerian citizenship
They have equally expressed their willingness to bring investment worth trillions of dollars into the Nigerian economy.
Speaking at pre-event briefing in Abuja on Monday, the President of the African Diaspora Union, Archbishop Chidiebere Ogbu, gave the disclosure.
Ogbu, who spoke to journalists ahead of the International Gathering in Honor of the Africans in Diaspora scheduled for between October 18 to 27, 2024 in Abuja and other parts of the country, revealed that the event
organised by AFRIDU in partnership with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), would bring together African descendants from around the world with the aim to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.
Ogbu, while stating that President Bola Tinubu is expected to address the gathering during the event in Abuja,said a passionate appeal has already been made to him to address the request of granting Nigerian citizenship to those that have traced their roots to the country.
He said: “For clarity purposes, the Historic African Diaspora are indigenous Africans
whose ancestors were forcefully carried away through conspiracy, manipulation, and coercions into slavery over 500 years ago, and who are dispersed in Europe, North America, South America, Caribbean and the
Oceania.”
He advised Nigeria leader to emulate other African countries who have already established the legal framework for those who had traced their root through DNA to those countries to be granted citizenship.
He added that this would further enhance the drive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country, noting that these group of people are willing to invest trillion of dollars in Nigeria’s economy.
The AFRIDU President therefore said for many of the participants, the event represents a long-awaited opportunity to return to Africa, not just as visitors, but as people reclaiming a deep personal and historical connection.
Nigeria, which was a central hub in the transatlantic slave trade, holds particular significance for those whose ancestors were forcibly taken from its shores more than 500 years ago.
He said: “The gathering will give all the
Black peoples of the world outside Africa the opportunity to visit Africa especially
Nigeria, with most of them visiting different states where they believe is their ancestry home which will usher in a great mass movement of the African Diaspora Experts, Investors, Professionals, Scientists, Entertainers, Academia, and people with diverse skills to Nigeria in the actualization of the Africans in Diaspora integration,” he said.
Black with Nigerian Root Seek Citizenship
Nigerian Government Says Super Eagles Was Placed in Detention
By: Michael Mike
The Nigerian government has described the incident with the National team, the Super Eagles in Libya as a detention.
The government in a statement by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Eche Abu-Obe said it received with dismay the news of the unfortunate detention of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) officials and the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Al Abraq International Airport several hours after arriving ahead of Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya.
The statement said: “To resolve the incident, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, initiated a phone call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Eastern Government, Dr. Abdulhadi Lahweej. This spawned a series of actions, culminating in steps taken to assuage the officials and reassure the players of their safety. Subsequently, the contingent departed for Nigeria.
“In ending the phone conversation, Amb. Tuggar commended the authorities’ actions in resolving the incident, and both Ministers appreciated the amicable resolution of the unfortunate situation in the spirit of African brotherhood.”
Nigerian Government Says Super Eagles Was Placed in Detention
Zulum Says Borno Government Will Supports Plan to Upgrade Maiduguri Airport to International Status
Black with Nigerian Root Seek Citizenship
Shettima Calls for Collaboration of All Stakeholders Towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
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