News - 22nd World AIDS Day: MCA-Benin joins the Event

Joining the international move, the Millennium Challenge Account Benin celebrated on December 1st, 2009, the 22nd World AIDS Day. On this occasion, Dr. Victorin Akogbékan, the Occupational Doctor for the Program, led a session to further raise awareness among the MCA-Benin staff on the behaviors to adopt to avoid infection.

"Universal Access and Human Rights" is the leading word for this year commemoration as proposed by the UN Secretary General together with the Global Campaign against AIDS and the UNAIDS. This theme has been chosen to highlight the increasing need to promote human rights as well as to achieve universal access for all to HIV prevention, treatment and support care services.

In line with its goal to work for people's well-being, the Benin Program for the Millennium Challenge Account took active part in the event by the means of a behavior change communication with the whole staff and conducted by Dr. Victorin Akogbékan, the Occupational Doctor.

Commenting on the theme selected for this 22nd edition of the World AIDS Day, Dr. Akogbèkan placed particular emphasis on the emergent need for all countries to eliminate laws that favor any discrimination against people living with HIV, mainly women and other marginalized groups in the society.
He also pointed out the must for African countries to meet the many commitments they made regards HIV / AIDS and human rights. "Achieving universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support in connection with HIV / AIDS is an imperative of human rights" Dr.Akogbékan argued. For him, only a true political will of African countries is the door out of this pandemic which affects thousands able people of the continent every year.
In Benin the Law No. 2005-31 of April 10, 2006 on HIV / AIDS, though in force, is hardly known; hence the opportunity of such a day and topic to share it wide among all the layers of our communities, he concluded. He did not fail to draw the MCA-Benin staff's attention to the behaviors required to avoid contracting the disease, but especially the attitude to show toward people living with HIV.