News / National
Zimbabwe defence forces look East
16 Sep 2014 at 02:00hrs | Views
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces has mitigated the adverse effects of illegal sanctions imposed by Britain and its Western allies by getting assistance from eastern countries after Government adopted the Look East policy, ZDF Commander General, Constantine Chiwenga, has said.
Gen Chiwenga was speaking over the weekend while officially opening a Zimbabwe Defence Forces Health Services conference attended by uniformed forces from Zimbabwe and the region.
The conference was meant to discuss ways of mitigating the effects of HIV and Aids and to harmonise and produce a common response to the pandemic.
"As you are aware, the country is going through a rough patch because of the heinous illegal sanctions imposed by Britain and its Western allies," he said.
"However, the Look East policy has assisted the ZDF to leapfrog over some of the adverse effects of the sanctions. We will continue to forge ahead and achieve even greater heights."
Turning to the pandemic, Gen Chiwenga said the effects of HIV and Aids on the defence forces was costly.
"The military makes an extensive investment in the training of its personnel in various skills," he said.
"Training and career development span many years over the course of the military personnel's career.
"The recruitment and training of replacements for personnel lost to Aids is costly as resources are pulled away from other areas of need."
Gen Chiwenga said it was important for the ZDF to decentralise the provision of anti-retroviral therapy which was now being initiated at all major centres. Previously only two centres used to offer the service.
He urged army personnel to play a part in the prevention of HIV.
"Every uniformed service has a stake in its country's national HIV and Aids programme for prevention, treatment and care," said Gen Chiwenga.
"Although the military has often lagged behind the public sector in sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention, the ZDF has done remarkably well in HIV prevention programmes."
Gen Chiwenga said prevention was the most effective way to reduce new infections and minimising the impact of the HIV pandemic.
He said the battle against HIV could be won.
"We also recognise the scientific advances that have been made in the recent past," said Gen Chiwenga.
"To maintain this momentum, several challenges have to be addressed.
"We need to scale up further the interventions which we know to be effective against the pandemic.
"We have to find solutions in Africa, to promote access to medicines and undertake the manufacture of ARVs.
"We need to tackle poverty and ignorance among families and households and empower the youth and women to address the factors that make them especially vulnerable."
The conference was supported by several partners of the ZDF and attended by key stakeholders, including doctors.
Gen Chiwenga was speaking over the weekend while officially opening a Zimbabwe Defence Forces Health Services conference attended by uniformed forces from Zimbabwe and the region.
The conference was meant to discuss ways of mitigating the effects of HIV and Aids and to harmonise and produce a common response to the pandemic.
"As you are aware, the country is going through a rough patch because of the heinous illegal sanctions imposed by Britain and its Western allies," he said.
"However, the Look East policy has assisted the ZDF to leapfrog over some of the adverse effects of the sanctions. We will continue to forge ahead and achieve even greater heights."
Turning to the pandemic, Gen Chiwenga said the effects of HIV and Aids on the defence forces was costly.
"The military makes an extensive investment in the training of its personnel in various skills," he said.
"Training and career development span many years over the course of the military personnel's career.
"The recruitment and training of replacements for personnel lost to Aids is costly as resources are pulled away from other areas of need."
Gen Chiwenga said it was important for the ZDF to decentralise the provision of anti-retroviral therapy which was now being initiated at all major centres. Previously only two centres used to offer the service.
"Every uniformed service has a stake in its country's national HIV and Aids programme for prevention, treatment and care," said Gen Chiwenga.
"Although the military has often lagged behind the public sector in sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention, the ZDF has done remarkably well in HIV prevention programmes."
Gen Chiwenga said prevention was the most effective way to reduce new infections and minimising the impact of the HIV pandemic.
He said the battle against HIV could be won.
"We also recognise the scientific advances that have been made in the recent past," said Gen Chiwenga.
"To maintain this momentum, several challenges have to be addressed.
"We need to scale up further the interventions which we know to be effective against the pandemic.
"We have to find solutions in Africa, to promote access to medicines and undertake the manufacture of ARVs.
"We need to tackle poverty and ignorance among families and households and empower the youth and women to address the factors that make them especially vulnerable."
The conference was supported by several partners of the ZDF and attended by key stakeholders, including doctors.
Source - The Herald
