Barter: Human rights key

THE protection of human rights is fundamental to preventing the spread of HIV, chairman of the National AIDS Council (NAC) Sir Peter Barter said during the World AIDS Day in Port Moresby.
He said by promoting human rights people living with HIV (PLHIV) must live free from discrimination and stigma and that NAC was working to ensure that this happened in PNG.
Sir Peter referred to the new National HIV and AIDS Strategy Plan 2011-15 he launched yesterday, that it would be used as a guide in implementing the strategies in the plan to achieve the three “zeros”.
He said focus would be on ensuring that by 2015, PNG would have zero babies born without HIV infection, zero discrimination against PLHIV and zero AIDS-related deaths.
Sir Peter explained that green circle stood for a peaceful and safe environment which could not be broken, the two figures on both sides of the ribbon represented a strong and healthy family – the future of PNG while the branding in white represented the body’s integrity.
He said with the new logo NAC had prepared a vision that was to see no child born with HIV by 2015 through the efforts of all stakeholders in PNG.