Celebrating World AIDS Day with thousands of people in Mohale's Hoek on December 1, the King said women and girls have for a long time been victims of domestic violence, with their basic human rights being violated at every turn. It had come to a stage where women and girls had come to accept that this was their lot in life.

Women and girls came into contact with HIV and AIDS not only from men who refused to use condoms but also from  infected people whom they took care of without having the proper protection themselves. In most cases they had not even been told they were taking care of people infected with the virus, the King said.

He appealed to the nation to ensure that people living with the disease are not discriminated against and are in fact integrated into society. Community leaders should also discourage the youth from engaging in sex before marriage, he said.

The King acknowledged government efforts in the fight against the spread of the disease, including the establishment of the National AIDS Commission, setting aside of two percent of ministerial budgets towards the fight against HIV and AIDS, easy access to anti-retrovirals as well as the campaign to get people to know their status.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Pakalitha Mosisili, also speaking at the celebrations, said he was aware that people believed that he had turned the ABC (abstain, be faithful and condomise) of AIDS prevention into a mantra, saying that until a cure had been found, this was one of a very few pieces of advice that can be given in the fight against the scourge.

Government would continue the ABC campaign because it had seen how successful this could be in Uganda, where the East African country had managed to reduce its infection rate from an initial 40 %to  its current six percent.

Mr. Mosisili said it was also essential that people went for voluntary counseling and testing so that they were able to know their HIV and AIDS status. "Knowing your individual status vis-à-vis HIV and AIDS is the frontline against the pandemic," he said.

02 December 2004