Members of the task force formulating an HIV bill yesterday drafted the final copy which they will be taking to parliament.
The members of the task force, which also included Members of Parliament, met at the British Council hall where they critically scrutinized the first draft clause by clause.
Mrs Isata Wurie, who is the president of Society for Women and AIDS in Africa SWAASL— the pivotal organization sponsoring the enactment of the bill, said the meeting was a final preview of the bill which is entitled “The Prevention and Control of HIV and AIDS ACT, 2007.”
Abu Bakarr Koroma, representing National AIDS Secretariat (NAS), said “it is challenging to get the bill through parliament considering the fact that parliament just has two weeks before it stands dissolved”.
He encouraged that all should rise up to this challenge, especially parliamentarians.
Honourable Dambo, who was one of the parliamentarians instrumental in the formulation of the bill, stressed that time was their problem and that everything they were doing should be fast tracked so that they could get the bill to parliament before June 16.
He also noted that finances should be available to see the bill through though, he noted, there had been pledges of funding from UN Theme Group, SWAASL and other donors.The task force agreed that they should draft a motion and give notice to parliament today, while concurrently doing the final touches to the bill.
The bill if becomes an Act will provide for the prevention, management and control of HIV and AIDS, for the treatment, counseling, support and care of persons infected with, affected by or at risk of HIV and AIDS infection and for other related matters.
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