CBU beat the National Institute for Public Administration (NIPA) while ZCAS came out on top against Cavendish University.
Debating the motion “Women living with and affected by HIV have access to prevention, treatment, care and support”, ZCAS represented by Chizanda Nyirongo, Chembe Nkonde, Joel Chipili and Mwaka Mukwasa got 583 points. Cavendish University with Ndayi Sameta, Micheal Muntanga, Chipoma Chilambwe and Wana Kalubinga got 564.
Mwaka Mukwasa of ZCAS came out top in the best speaker category beating all other speakers. In an interview after the debate she said she was humbled to have claimed the award. She said public speaking was something she took seriously and was motivated to participate in the debate bacause both topics were looking at the welfare of women infected or affected by HIV and AIDS. Mwaka is studying second level ACCA.
The second motion was “Criminalisation of HIV transmission will benefit women.” The CBU which had Mkuka Lusale, Nnena Nwankwo, Mutale Mwandalesa and Chipasha Kapasa scored 611 points while NIPA with Bwanga Nkonde, Mutinta Siavwapa, Marlon Mwansa and Micheal Mukelabai in their team scored 532 points. Mutale Mwandalesa was the best speaker for the second sssion. Mutale after the debate said she was very happy to have won the award despite stiff competition from both her team members as well as the NIPA team.
She said she was proud of what she had achieved because she had put in her best. Mutale, a fourth year student in Urban Regional planning, further thanked her team for their support.
The four teams were well represented in terms of supporters who cheered them on.
At the event, an HIV activist, Miriam Banda, said she hoped the issues that were being raised in the debate were not just academic but would be put into practice. She said she was opposed to the criminalization of HIV transmission mainly because there is a lack of evidence as to who is responsible for transmitting the virus to their partner. On the topic of access to prevention, care and support, Miriam, who has been living with HIV since 2001, pointed out that there was relatively good availbility of medication but there were still a lot of challenges in accessing the medicine due to long distances from service delivery points.
The National AIDS Council (NAC) Director General, Dr Ben Chirwa, one of the judges, said the debate offered a platform at which issues surrounding human rights and HIV could be discussed. Dr Chirwa said he hoped some of the important issues that were raised in the debate would be taken up and considered for important national policies on HIV and AIDS. He thanked ZARAN for holding the debate saying it offered a good forum for students to get involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
ZARAN Executive Director Malala Mwondela said she was impressed with the research the debaters had undertaken. She said debates offered ZARAN a lot of information that could be used in the organisation's activities related to law and policy.
It was generally agreed that criminalisation of HIV transmission would disadvantage women. With regard to access to prevention, treatment, care and support, it was acknowledged that much had been done, but much more remained to be done to ensure universal access.
Theatre group Nomakanjani provided entertainment in form of art and dance at the debate.
