Samuel Eto’o: HIV Aids should not be taboo in Africa

Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o, who patronises the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Without HIV-Aids campaign, held a press conference at the Amitie Stadium in Libreville, Gabon on Monday, where he promised to work hard to remove the disease as a taboo subject in Africa.

The Anzhi Makhachkala forward teamed up with Gabon international goalkeeper Didier Ovono months ago to help Gabon’s first lady Sylvia Bongo press forth her anti-HIV message during the 2012 Afcon, using the slogan 3-0 against AIDS.

Eto’o called on African youths to shun “destructive pleasures of the moment” and focus on their future, as he did by modelling himself on compatriot Roger Milla during his early days.

“We are using football to convey this message because Africans love football and it has become a gathering point. We want to bring this as an alert that HIV-Aids is not only a threat to the sport in Africa but a danger for the youths and development on the continent,” Eto’o said.

When asked how he was feeling the absence of Cameroon at Gabon-Equatorial Guinea 2012, the four-time African footballer of the year said it was a painful absence, but that he believed the spirit of Cameroon was present in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The former Barcelona ace drew the attention of all to the stigma still surrounding HIV-Aids and its victims in Africa.

“This taboo must stop. People are scared to confess their status because of this. They hide behind this pain and keep rotting inside and spreading the disease the more,” he said. “But if we accept the situation and its realities, victims will come out in the open and get more help and stop hiding and hurting themselves and others.”

Statistics from Gabon’s ministry of health reveal that more than 63,000 people live with HIV in the central African country, and authorities fear the number could increase during the 2012 Afcon because of the influx of first-time visitors.