18 May 2001

Brussels, Belgium: Former Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings has urged fellow Africans to "revolutionize" their sexual behaviour in a bid to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Addressing the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels this week, Flight-Lieutenant Rawlings, an Eminent Person for the UN International Year of Volunteers (IYV), 2001, called on Africans to restore their "sense of discipline and responsibility" towards wives and families.

"Prevention and containment can only come from the voluntary courage to test ourselves and subsequently to behave appropriately," he told a conference session on health.

During a recent visit to Botswana, Mr. Rawlings, who works with the UN Volunteers programme as an appointee of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for IYV 2001, said he had "witnessed the importance of political leadership and will". Volunteers in that southern African country had devoted "their energy, time and resources from different parts of the developing world for prevention and care for the sick".

UN Volunteers in Botswana, as well as several other countries such as neighbouring Zambia, work directly with communities to advise on policies, form self-help groups and care for those affected.

One such UN Volunteer is Brigitte Syamalevwe, a Zambian wife and mother of 11 children who has been HIV-positive for the past 10 years. She told the conference of 49 LDCs and some 30 donor governments that decision-makers should listen to needs of communities before implementing programmes.

"I stand here as a mother of 11 children. I do not want anyone to sit in conferences and plan the way to look after my children," she said. "But I want to be part and parcel of health planning, and that is what I understand by mutual respect and trust. Involve me in planning for what is mine."

"I plead with your hearts today to help me and many other people from the least developed world to find the strength and the dignity of volunteering with the support that you can give us to do our own things, because we all believe in love and humanity."