World Aids Day message from the Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot |01 December 2020
Minister Vidot
‘Let’s step up our efforts to achieve a Seychelles free from Aids’
“Let us all step up our national efforts and shared responsibility to achieve a Seychelles free from Aids,” health minister Peggy Vidot has said.
Minister Vidot said this in her message on the occasion of World Aids Day today, December 1.
The full text of Minister Vidot’s message reads:
“Today, Seychelles joins the rest of the world to mark World Aids Day 2020.
“This year the occasion is commemorated under the theme ‘Global solidarity, shared responsibility’, a statement that emphasises the need to advocate for elimination of stigma and discrimination, the need to put people at the centre
of our activities and making our responses more human-rights oriented and gender-responsive. These approaches are key to ending the HIV pandemic, which has now, unfortunately, taken a back seat due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health care providers need to ensure that during this time of Covid-19 pandemic, care continues and HIV services are not affected. HIV services should remain part of the essential services package.
“The past few months have been difficult for many Seychellois, from all walks of life. Restrictions on movement and assembly have limited people’s access to health services and disrupted numerous community outreach activities,
specifically targeting young people and other vulnerable populations. Less HIV-testing was conducted during the restrictions.
“Although our known HIV patients have been spared from Covid-19, we have to be cautious as this vulnerable group is at the highest risk of more severe illness associated with Covid-19 infection. Therefore, the effort to reduce new HIV
infections and new Covid-19 infections should continue unabated.
“The Covid-19 crisis has been a wake-up call and an opportunity to do things differently. It has brought a new normal with different public health measures in place. The Ministry of Health is working in partnership with governmental and
non-governmental organisations to improve community-based interventions through integration of HIV services in both health and non-health response initiatives to ensure that the country stays on track to end Aids by 2030. We want to broaden access to continued HIV health care and pandemic response to ensure that no individual or community is denied access to health or left behind.
“Each one of us need to know our status. Knowing our status will ensure that if we are infected or affected by HIV/Aids, we have access to prevention, treatment, care and support services. I ask every person to take a step forward, get
tested for HIV and those who test positive, please go seek treatment and those tested negative make use of the different HIV/Aids prevention services available to you.
“Finally, let us all step up our national efforts and shared responsibility to achieve a Seychelles free from Aids.”
Press release from the Ministry of Health