World AIDS Day in Tabora, Tanzania: Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise
By the EGPAF Tabora sub-office staff
Tabora Region, Tanzania
March 12, 2008

Tanzania’s Tabora region hosted the country's 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day celebration on December 1, 2007. EGPAF is one of the partners supporting HIV/AIDS activities in the region, and participated fully in the commemoration of World AIDS Day. The anniversary celebration was preceded by one week of commemoration activities.

A huge crowd gathers for the 20th-anniversary World AIDS Day celebration in Tabora Region, Tanzania.

“When are you expecting to expand your services to all regions within the country?”

This was a question from the President of Tanzania, Honorable Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, who was impressed by the presentation of EGPAF’s history and work in Tanzania, which was made by Tanzania Country Director Dr. Anja Giphart.

The President visited the EGPAF booth at the Tabora celebration and found it unique because it included people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), who volunteered to give testimonies about the services they receive from EGPAF-supported sites. These volunteers included mothers who tested HIV-positive during pregnancy and delivered children who tested negative at 18 months, as well as clients from EGPAF care and treatment clinics. The volunteers were mobilizing people, providing counseling, and discussing their HIV status with the public, and this motivated more people to stop in and receive HIV testing in our booth.

A family visits the EGPAF booth at the Tabora celebration.

A total of 5,019 people visited our booth (3,029 adults, 1,049 children, and 1,112 adolescents). A total of 617 people received HIV counseling and testing, of which 23 tested positive. Thirty-six children were tested and found to be negative.

EGPAF also had a partnership with Celtel (a phone company in Tanzania), which agreed to provide payphones to PLHA groups as a source of generating income. The EGPAF-Celtel booth carried the slogan, “zuia ukimwi timiza wajibu wako,” meaning “Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise.” This brought attention to the booth and increased the number of people who visited and received HIV testing.

The most encouraging thing about the event was that ten families visited our booth and agreed to be tested for HIV as a family.

These efforts to improve the health of the people of Tabora encouraged the President to spend about 15 minutes in the EGPAF booth, instead of the allocated five minutes he spent in many other booths.

The anniversary celebration was successful, and this was made possible because of the commitment and team spirit of the EGPAF Tabora team in collaboration with EGPAF country office.