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PRESS RELEASEINFORMATION-ZIGMA

ZIGMA is an association of Zimbabwean Gospel musicians based inUK.The Association was launched in December 2006 as part of efforts to uniteZimbabwean gospel musicians based in the diaspora.

Almost thirty years into the epidemic HIV is still a majorconcern for public health in Europe and therest of the world, with many living with HIV unaware of their status. Lowawareness of personal risk of HIV infection and fear of stigma anddiscrimination accounts, in part, for low uptake of testing services. Recentreports from the BBC indicated that little was being done by the government toheighten awareness of HIV despite a rise in new HIV cases. ahead of World AidsDay coming up on the 1st of December ZIGMA stars funded by the big Lotterywill be holding a Gospel Extravaganza at the all Nations Centre in Leicester on Friday the 28th October 2011. Thepurpose of this event is to support the government’s initiative to raise HIVawareness in the UK.The concert starts at 6pm till 11:30pm. Activities such as gumboot dance,mbira, and drumming workshops have been lined up from 5-6pm. This is to enablethe artists to interact with the community who will have the opportunity tolearn about the services available to them. ZIGMA has joined forces with localSexual Health and HIV agencies who will be available on site to address the persistent discrimination andstigma associated with HIV/AIDS as these are major barriers to people seekingHIV testing, treatment and care. This ispartof our ongoing outreach program to present social issues about HIV insensitive ways that help people question long accepted behaviour patterns.

With HIV being an increasingly common disease in the UK our vision is to use thepower of community leaders, music, and dance to sendthe message across. It is hoped that by promoting behaviours that reduce HIVtransmission and promote support for those with the infection, the outreachprogram will prevent the spate of the disease and help those who are hithardest. 

The concert will be presented by high profile presentersEzra Tshisa Sibanda and The General Eric Knight of Visionsradio . Speaking atthe concert will the CNN Heroes Awards Winner Betty Makoni, a girls childrights activist, founder and director of Girl Child Network (GCN). The concertis an excellent opportunity for our mission to use the media to support ourefforts in reducing the spread of the disease.

 You can get more information from our website  zigmaonline.com  

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