Picture from: (topnews.in/health)
Despite the government spending millions of pula in HIV/AIDS prevention programmes, new infections continue to be recorded throughout the country.
And besides the new infections, some people who are already living with the virus still don’t adhere to treatment regardless of information being disseminated on the importance of sticking to the treatment programme.
Speaking during a press briefing recently, Public Health Director, Shenaaz El Halabi said: “This is a great concern because it appears as though people are far from changing their attitudes towards HIV/AIDS. The government also incurs unnecessary costs due to this irresponsible behaviour and lack of accountability at individual level,” she said.
She also said increased treatment costs due to medication switch as a result of lack of adherence, late testing and enrolment into the free treatment programme at a later stage are some of the factors that contribute to unnecessary costs.
Halabi however urged the media to continue raising public awareness of HIV/AIDS and related issues
“The media should fulfil its role, not just as a watchdog but a key partner and opinion leader,” said Halabi
The objective of the briefing was to sensitize media and other stakeholder on HIV/AIDS prevention and programmes.
Meanwhile caregiver, Malebogo Diboko, commended the government on its efforts to alleviate the epidemic but said measures taken will not work if people are not willing to change their behaviours.
She went on to say couples should test together and make sure they maintain their status as it is in order to reduce prevalence of HIV.
“I discovered I was HIV positive three years ago and I urged my partner to go for testing and it turned out we are both positive. So I encourage others to go for testing together and support each other even if the other party is negative. That positive attitude will help you live positively and will reduce the spread of the virus,” Diboko said.
aids1
the gorvenment should consider paying half of the treatment cost and an individual paying the other half, maybe this will reduce irresponsibility when it comes to sex.
HIV is not always caused by sex alone @huzla. There is vertical transmission from mother to child and iatrogenic mode, where a person with no prior HIV infection, walks into the hospital and gets a procedure and maybe a blood transfusion and if the blood is HIV positive, that individual can be infected. Yes unprotected sex with an infected person is another way to get the infection, but let us not make it sound like all HIV infected people are sexually irresponsible. Yes to cut costs, we have to look at the bigger picture. Money in Botswana is generally not eqiutably allocated. I read in one article that every month we spend P50,000 on maintaining the lifestyle of our vice president.How many boxes of HIV medication can you buy with that money that is being wasted like that? We have 10-15 ministerial houses that have gardeners, plush swimming pools and well paid maids all over Gaborone, not to mention parliamentary flats that are now largely occupied by the relatives of MPs. These are maintained by funds from our budget. Every year BG buys hundreds of new vehicles(mainly from Motor center)which are then distributed to the various departments, already overflowing with useable BX vehicles. We have brand new BMWs bought and used to drive ministers to offices within walking distances from their official residences, and mind you these ministers are on a salary scale that entitles them to huge bonuses every year.It is not uncommon for one of these ministers to walk into a furniture shop and even without so much as asking for the price, just pick a huge talking FRIDGE for P47000 or a P20000 mirror and send the bill to the government.If we drop these unnecessary costs, we can take very good care of our HIV patients and other people with other chronic diseases very comfortably without making some of them feel guilty to be sick. Let us approach this issue with caution and sensitivity. We are a dying nation and our people are dying quickly. We have to put aside all our extravangant tastes and start looking after these people. We can never get them back. I challenge every person with a relative with HIV to stop looking outside for the help, but to look within themselves. As they are the ones closer to the patient, they are at a very vantageous point to help that person than a government that might as well not even know, that the patient exists.
God bless all of us as we strive to become a compassionate and caring nation everyday.
Yes let us pray to God so that the madicine is found. Meanwhile we take care of ourselves. Go utlwa botlhoko ka madi a matona a a dirisang go ka re busetsa kwa morago. A re ikgapheng mo tlhakanelong dikobo, MME gone go thata betsho. Ka thata ya MODIMO re ka kgana. PLEASE LORD SAVE US FROM SEX!!! Le bagolo a ba tlogele bana.
The overwhelming majority of those who contract HIV in our nation get it via heterosex! Therefore to keep new infections down still boils down to individual self-discipline. If that was to happen across the country, collectively zero new infection objective would be achieved as planned. To stave off complacency the campaign message needs to be kept fresh and difficult to ignore at all times! This is an easily preventable disease! Poverty eradication will help a lot here too!
AIDS can only stop spreading if those found infected are stamped with a tatoo on a forehead so that it is easy to identify the person coming to you as a patient. We hear all sorts of stories that some are on ARVs yet they fall pregnent. Some say they are not going to die alone. Sengwe se tshwanetse go dirwa. A ba bewe letshwao. Ha ke tsaya kgarebe ke ya go moja ke bo ke itse gore ke nna careful go le kae….ka ke tlaabo ke setse ke bone tatoo mo phatlenng.Eeee! letshwao ntate, ga se kgethololo ke go fedisa AIDS.