YAOUNDE, November 30, 2008 -- Cameroon’s capital city woke up this morning to a sea of yellow. The city’s four exits were blocked by hundreds of members of the World Bank-supported Youth Development and Peace Network. Wearing yellow t-shirts and carrying signs, the group was marching against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Cameroon has an HIV/AIDS rate of 5.1% among youth, the rate of HIV infection is 3.9%. The Youth Development and Peace Network (YDPN), comprised of 15 youth organizations of 500 youth from around the country, came together ahead of World AIDS Day to help stop the spread of the virus and disease among its peers.
Along a seven kilometer walk spanning 23 quarters of the city, some 500 marchers, escorted by security and a Red Cross crew, distributed pins, brochures and other information on HIV/AIDS in an effort to reinforce responsible sexual behavior and the message of hope. They converged on May 20 Boulevard in downtown Yaounde where they were greeted by government officials from the ministries of Higher Education, Secondary Education, Communication, Women and Family Affairs, Youth and Public Health.
According to the Ministry of Public Health’s Professor Ondobo Andzé Gervais, 30 percent of Cameroon’s hospital beds are filled with HIV/AIDS patients.
“The slogan ‘leadership’ is no longer a government concern only, but it should be that of everybody,” Gervais said, referring to Cameroon’s AIDS slogan for 2008.
During the event, youth performed rap songs and slam poetry and presented sketches and poems. Children with mental and physical disabilities also performed and one HIV-positive young woman held up a green bouquet as a symbol of hope. Members of the public, including youth, also volunteered to take on-the-spot, free and confidential HIV screenings. Students promised to behave responsibly in order to prevent the spread of the virus. At the end of the event, an artist displayed a linen sheet marked with expressions of feeling from members of the audience.
Organizers declared the event a success.
“This important event, well attended by the representatives of the government, donors and particularly by the Cameroonian youth, demonstrated the commitment and determination of the participants in fighting HIV/AIDS,” said Jan Drozdz, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist for the World Bank. “It was very encouraging to see the performances of the young artists carrying the message of prevention, testing and inclusion.”
The Yellow Sunday event was the second of its kind in Cameroon. In 2003 and 2004, 600 students from 50 schools toured the country as part of the “NO SIDA” caravan. The caravan included national rap music sensation Kris Badd and the reigning Miss Cameroon. Companies, including cell phone multinational MTN, Radio Africa #1, Radio France International, MCM Africa and others, participated.
For the November 30 event, the Youth Development and Peace Network partnered with the National Committee on HIV/AIDS, MTN, the local chapter of UNAIDS and others.
The event was part of the YDPN’s larger action plan, which to date has included the following activities to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS:
Donations in kind and cash to two orphanages in Yaoundé and Mbalmayo
Distribution of magazines and flyers on the dangers of HIV and AIDS
Participation in the Mobile CNLS Caravan for free and confidential HIV screening
RSS