The 5th National Pediatric Conference on Children Infected and affected by HIV got underway yesterday with a call to strengthen the fight against Mother to child transmission and also taking care of the infected children.

The two day conference which is running under the theme, ‘Count down to 2015 Targets for Children and HIV – Achieving MDG number 6,’ aims at understanding and reviewing the existing national coordination mechanisms on implementation of the Millennium Development Goal 6.

Speaking at the opening, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion Jean d’ Arc Mujawamariya who spoke on behalf of the Prime Minister urged each person to play a role in having an HIV free generation.

"We are all here because we share the same conviction of changing the situation of our children and we are determined to take steps to significantly reduce the number of infections in infants so as to promote HIV-free generation,” said the minister.

Mujawamariya also told the participants that government has put much emphasis on ensuring that children’s lives are protected from getting infected at birth.

"We are here because we believe that the image of the country is in what it does for its children and that is why we have undertaken a series of extensive discussions to develop the HIV National Strategic Plan for the next four years.”

The MDG 6 aims at fighting HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and other epidemics through halting and reversing their prevalence by the year 2015.

Speaking on behalf of UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidbe, Dr. Karusa Kiragu congratulated Rwanda for putting much efforts in fighting AIDS especially in children and women.

Ends