By Julius Koome

“BY the time you finish reading this article, assuming that you are of the type who carry newspapers at home for evening news...” wrote a Kenya HIV/Aids analyst, “Seven hundred Kenyans will have died.
This of course is an addition to seven hundred others who died yesterday and to a further seven hundred others who await their death tomorrow. By the close of the year...” continued the writer grimly “2.5 million people will have died of HIV/Aids, if the current trend is not checked.”
Of HIV/Aids - one thing is not lacking, statistics. We know that currently approximately 2.5million Kenyans are living with Aids and that this is 14 per cent of the sexually active population, that Kenya has the 9th highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, that according to a notorious USA number juggler- the US Census Bureau, by the year 2005 Kenya will be loosing 820 people each day to the scourge. The World Bank estimated that in the year 2000 most sub-Saharan countries paid between 5 –10 per cent of their total profit to Aids- related costs, such as worker absenteeism. In the same period Kenya is said to have paid 8 per cent while Uganda dropped some digit lower to 6 per cent. One study estimated that by the same year, expenditures made to care for Aids patient in government health facilities was equivalent to entire 1993/94 Ministry of Health budget. 
During the last year’s world Aids day celebrations - December first-world leaders were treated to such long chains of these depressing figures. You should have seen their faces! It was as if they were hearing the whole thing for the first time!
Expressing his frustrations and despair, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki elaborated on the aftermaths of the pandemic’s devastation: “Aids is destroying homes, devastating communities and decimating our work force.” 
The crest fallen president had then laid down his government stratagems on Aids war. “We must make every conscious effort, employ every available tool to fight this epidemic.” 
In South Africa - the country with the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, former President and Nobel peace prizewinner Nelson Mandela, fought to rekindle what has commonly come to be known as the “Nkosi Aids philosophy.”  Nkosi, a South African boy moved the whole world to tears in late 90’s when he perpetuated a HIV/Aids awareness campaign. He later died of Aids related complications and immediately became an anti HIV/Aids campaign icon.
Mandela, 85, launched 46664 campaign aimed at assisting Aids victims to access antiretrovirals.46664 tag was Mandela’s prison number when he served a 27-year jail term for his opposition to apartheid. “Aids sufferers are serving live sentence - Aids is threatening to reduce the world population to a number,” he said.        
The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan took off his concentration from mind- boggling conflict in Iraq and innumerable peace-talk-schedules to voice his concern: “The world leaders are not doing enough in combating this disease,” he lamented in a desperate tone, betraying his usual relaxed and candid style.
But the strongest statement of the day came from French President Jacques Chirac. In his usual combative mood, President Chirac bellowed: “Le Sida est une bete- Aids is the worst mankind’s beast.”
Elsewhere, Mr. Mark Brown, UNDP director, was expressing concern over the high rate of HIV spread in eastern European countries of Ukraine and Estonia - the two that were noted earlier as being safe from the virus.
Meanwhile as the news of Aids devastation continued to pour in - that from Guyana caught attention of many anti- HIV/Aids campaigners.
The United Nations Aids, the body charged with monitoring and implementing anti- Aids policies, gave a detailed picture of Aids situation in this tiny Caribbean country, how it was struggling to keep afloat. According to the report, in 1997, the HIV/Aids prevalence rate in Guyana was within ‘tolerable’ range.
Three percent of all blood donors, at least 7 per cent of women attending antenatal clinic, 21 per cent of males visiting sexually transmitted infections clinics and 45 per cent of commercial sex workers were infected with HIV. By the year 2000 the figures had doubled and within the next few years they will rocket, the report says. The besieged government has since developed various measures of curbing the spread latest being ‘words have power campaign’.
According to Guyana’s Minister for Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy - this campaign mainly targets the youth in public transport, the minibus drivers and conductors. These are the most vulnerable group. The campaign is aimed at educating this group; let them be aware of how to guard them against the infection.
It also aimed at breaking stigmatization & discrimination against Aids patients. In fact, the campaign is discouraging the use of hurting connotations and derogatoriness used to refer to HIV victims, in favour of ‘user friendly’ words, such as PLWHA - people living with HIV/Aids.
Asked why he choose public sector or more precisely the minibus-drivers, Dr. Ramsammy replied, “This is one place where Guyanese meet, irrespective of creed and culture, it will set a stage of Aids awareness and for a kind communication attitude.” 
During the launching of the campaign, the US ambassador to Guyana said that he was looking forward, with vested anticipation, to a day when persons living with Aids will feel free to disclose their Sero-status, when stigma and discrimination toward PLWHA will diminish  “We must all work together to replace the message of shame with that of hope,” the ambassador said.