The Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Dr Motloheloa Phooko says prevention and treatment remain core elements of AIDS response.

Dr Phooko was speaking at the round table discussion held in Maseru on leadership reflections on AIDS in Africa and scenarios to 2025 and their application to Lesotho.

Dr Phooko however said that "In the long run, the benefits will be eclipsed if AIDS is isolated from the struggle to achieve progress on development issues in the country."

The Minister noted that Africa is the continent mostly affected by AIDS, as 70 percent of the people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, live in Africa.

Dr Phooko said scenarios are powerful thinking tools intended to spark debates and broaden the terms within which debates can take place.

He said the future of Africa depends on how she (Africa) responds to the pandemic, and that introduction of scenarios focusing on the continent where there is an increasing interest among leaders and the civil society to combat the epidemic in joint efforts is highly significant.

Dr. Phooko urged stakeholders in HIV/AIDS to apply the scenarios in Lesotho in an effort to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.

At the same occasion, the National AIDS Commission Chief Executive, Mr. Keketso Sefeane, said HIV/AIDS is a social problem not only in the country, but in the African region as a whole.

He said there is a need for collaboration of efforts in response to the fight against rapid spread of the epidemic.

The purpose of the round table discussions was to introduce the concept of scenarios in the context of HIV/AIDS in Africa with a view to relate them to the local situation.

Meanwhile, the World AIDS Day commemoration will this year be marked at Mahobong in Leribe on December 01.

Source: 29/11/2007