As regional countries struggle to curb the spread of HIV/ Aids, the Minister of health, Dr. Richard Sezibera yesterday called for a collaborated regional effort if the treatment and spread of the epidemic is to be contained.

He said this during the official opening of a two-day ordinary session of the Council of Ministers from countries in the Great Lakes region.

While addressing members of the Great Lakes Initiative on Aids (GLIA) Sezibera noted that the virus can easily be transmitted from one country to another hence it knows no borders.

"HIV/Aids has no passport, so our strategies of fighting it should be on the national and regional basis.

Our success will strongly depend on our collective efforts to promote prevention of mother-to-child transmission, voluntary testing and counseling and use of antiretrovirals among others,” he said.

He commended GLIA’s remarkable results with regard to the fight against HIV/Aids over the years, highlighting that there are still challenges that must be overcame.

"Availability of resources is still a constraint and harmonization of treatment protocols. We must overcome these issues that hamper our mission,” he added.

The meeting which brought together health officials from Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya seeks to increase regional collaboration in a bid to reduce HIV infections and mitigate socio-economic impact of the epidemic in the Great Lakes Region.

Review and progress of the GLIA annual progress report July 2008-June 2009 and work plan were discussed however the media was denied access.

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