First Lady Mrs Lordina Mahama and other first ladies on Saturday participated in an International Symposium on HIV and AIDS as part of the ongoing 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan.

The symposium is first international event on HIV and AIDS to be attended by Mrs Mahama after her election as 1st Vice President of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against AIDS (OAFLA) for West Africa.

Also in attendance were the First Lady of Japan Mrs. Akie Abe and the wife of the United Nations Secretary General Mrs. Ban Soon-Taek.

Participants observed that OAFLA has provided a forum for the voiceless and is mobilising society adequately to fight the AIDS pandemic.

Speaking at the conference, Mrs.Ban commended OAFLA for taking up the issue of stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS.

She observed that poverty and political instability in Africa are competing with HIV and AIDS for funding which is a major challenge to the fight against the disease. She called for partnership and collaboration, to achieve a common goal.

The participants also agreed at the end of the symposium on the need to invest in the youth, focus on prevention, target investments, challenge the legal environment and work social attitudes.

The first ladies also stressed the need to include people living with HIV and AIDS in the planning and implementation process, and translating the experience of vulnerable communities into policies on HIV and AIDS.

The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Angela El-Adas, accompanied Mrs. Mahama to the symposium.