Zimpapers Logo

combating HIV and Aids.
Though there are many free voluntary counselling and testing centres countrywide, the uptake has not been very high and perhaps improved access and convenience of having the service delivered on everyone’s doorstep will make a big difference.

Discrimination and stigma are now rare as people are now informed about the virus.
In spite of the advent of ARVs and many examples of people living positively, few people still fear being diagnosed with HIV and still believe there is no need to get tested unless one is unwell.
The door-to-door campaign will help clarify the need for everyone to get tested sooner rather than later even if they do not have any apparent health problems.
Abstinence, correct and consistent condom use campaigns have yielded limited success, and we have seen reduced perceived prevalence and new infection rates.

As a country, we are rightfully proud of this achievement as it shows that we have taken the pandemic seriously and that attitude is yielding results.
But there is need to treat the achievement with caution as too many people in the country do not know their HIV status.
Official HIV prevalence rates for the country are mostly based on estimates gleaned from pregnant women who get tested under the service provider initiated programme.

There have been awareness campaigns on the discordant couple syndrome but a surprising number of men still believe that if their spouses test negative for HIV then they are also in the clear.
It is such people who go on to spread the virus under that illusion.
A door-to-door campaign will practically beard the lions in the dens so to speak, thus forcing men and women who are not currently involved in child bearing to make an individual position on getting

tested on a personal level rather than the general approach of posters and adverts.
It is important for the state to have as many people as possible tested for planning purposes. If the estimates used are way off the mark it means that at some point in the future there may be more people seeking treatment than projected figures and the health delivery system may fail to cope with the influx.

On the other hand in spite of having pharmaceutical companies that are producing paediatric ARVs we still have 7000 children in a year succumbing to HIV because their parents did not choose to get them tested and treated.
The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare has just unrolled an enhanced prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) to reduce the percentages of children infected with the virus down to less that five percent of all live births.

This initiative like all the other ARV programmes can only work if every one concerned gets tested and follows the instructions of the medical service providers.
The above scenario illustrates that knowing one’s HIV status is even more vital for the individual than officialdom.

Life decisions like the one to have children will then be made from an informed position.
It should however, be noted that for the campaign to be a success there is a need for corresponding practical support for those who get positive results after opting to go through with the test.

With the last statistics from the National Aids Council revealing that around 200 000 people who have tested positive for HIV, but are yet to access ARVs on the public system, this is a cause of concern.

If people test positive then fail to access treatment this will obviously create a dilemma with some even becoming ill and incapacitated due to the resultant stress.
The country’s HIV programme relies heavily on the Global Fund and other players in the donor community and this is not a good place to be in.

There is need for common ground to be urgently found between the local pharmaceutical manufacturers and the state to ensure that the former produces adequate supplies for the country’s needs at viable prices.