O’Neill appeals for people to change behaviour

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday said there was no cure for AIDS and, therefore, “all people, irrespective of their status, must change their behaviour and refrain from sex or be faithful to their partner”.
“Our government is committed to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country to ensure the requirements of the millennium development goals (MDG) are met,” O’Neill said.
“PNG must aim for zero new infection as per the 2011 international theme for HIV/AIDS – getting to zero, zero infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.”
The theme for PNG is “Zero HIV in PNG! Protect yourself, protect your family”. 
“As we mark World AIDS Day, I appeal to all Papua New Guineans to take extra precaution and to assist in the efforts to prevent its spread,” O’Neill said.
He said there were more than 45,000 people living with AIDS in the country and most of them were women and children with the national prevalence
rate at 0.92%.
O’Neill thanked international partners, non-governmental organisations, the business community and other stakeholders for supporting the government through the National AIDS Council Secretariat to fight this disease.