— Govt. urges Police officers to go for VCT

Govt. urges Police officers to go for VCT

Kitwe , August 16^th, 2014, ZANIS —-  Government has urged the Zambia Police service personnel go for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) for them to know their HIV/AIDS status so that they can plan their lives.

Kitwe District Commissioner Elias Kamanga  says when the officers know their HIV/AIDS status they would also know the kind of duties that they can perfume within the service so that they do not endanger their lives by engaging in activities that are not suitable to their status.

ZANIS sports reports that Kamanga was speaking in Kitwe yesterday at Arthur Davis stadium in Kitwe when he officiated at the Zambia police service HIV/AIDS sports tournament.

And Kamanga commended the police service for organising a sports tournament aimed at sensitising HIV and AIDS among the police officers as it was one way of helping government attain its objective of reaching a zero rate HIV and AIDS prevalence by 2015 by reaching everyone.

He also noted that the sports tournament is a platform for promoting the spirit of interaction and emphasising the need for HIV/AIDS awareness among the men and women in uniform.

And speaking earlier, Kitwe district commanding officer Lizzie Machina encouraged the police personnel not to be just peace keepers but to also socialise and interact with each other.

The HIV and AIDS sports tournament which was held under the theme:  ‘’Reaching everyone everywhere with VCT’’ attracted hundreds of police personnel from Kitwe and Ndola districts.

Meanwhile over hundreds of police officers from both Ndola and Kitwe district underwent VCT as well as ordinary people from the society who live near the Arthur Davies stadium.

Among the games played at the sports tournament were football and netball.