HIV/AIDS - WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG?

 LISTENING to the news yesterday covering proceedings at the UN I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for this nation to be labelled the country with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world! Our invitation as a country to address the UN should not be regarded as an honour for this country but an embarrassment. And the princess must be lauded for having braved it all to tell our story to the world.

As this impacts on our branding as a nation, it requires proper handling to improve the image of the country. The princess was thrown into the deep end by being put on the spotlight on the country’s position on this.

Asked how this country would get out of this quagmire, she said something like - we would do it like we did with malaria where we have, on a number of occasions, got accolades. And that obviously did not wash, as malaria could not be likened to AIDS for obvious reasons. Her royal highness further said something to the effect that the reason we had these startling statistics was a result of the size of this country - small in size and in population terms.

And that, I thought was a difficult justification to make, because, if it were down to absolute figures and not population ratios; this country would be first from the bottom I think. I am convinced that the reason the world is overwhelmed by our circumstance is because they are looking at ratios. Besides, there are vast differences between combating AIDS or malaria; in that malaria can be treated when contracted while on the contrary, HIV/AIDS  cannot. Again, malaria is about controlling the breeding of the mosquitoes and consequently, mosquito bites.

And these are the causal factors of malaria; and as long as you have got a handle on these you have controlled malaria. But by the same token, if we can get a handle on the things that cause AIDS and control them, we would control AIDS infections and its spread thereof. And the obvious thing to stop new infections is abstinence and to some degree using protection; but as we all know, these are the most difficult actions for society to do.

On the causal factors - our belief system as a nation rooted in traditions ( witchcraft and traditional medicines) also had an impact on the level of AIDS infections; as the first victims of AIDS were suspected to have been bewitched or struck by ‘Lugola’, a disease believed to be contracted from having sexual encounters with a woman who had a recent miscarriage. So, instead of seeing AIDS for what it was, we were busy running around trying to get traditional healers to fix us herbs.

There was also the Christian belief that also contributed to the ballooning statistics, as some bogus pastors continued to make people believe that AIDS could just be cured by prayer alone.  As a result of this faith crisis, patients continued to be sick; and in the process, infecting others around them. On the whole, people took too long to understand this disease and as a result delayed taking precautions for themselves and those around them - the result was that; AIDS infections continued to grow.

Which makes me come to the conclusion that the key to dealing with the AIDS pandemic is understanding the causal factors.....not just treatment but preventative measures that address causal factors.

The big question is how did we get here? I submit, the obvious would be - promiscuity and the prevalence of pre-marital sex, increased cases of adultery with no repercussions for offenders, concurrent multiple partners, prostitution that thrives in the dark. Our success in our fight against HIV/AIDS seems to lie in how we change the status quo. The key would be the reduction of new infections and continuing to treat the infected population as AIDS cannot be eradicated once contracted. Malawi, we are told, did it with the first lady championing the campaign and apparently reversed the trend from one of the countries with the highest prevalence to so much lower. We are on the right track as well with our leaders at the forefront, but we need serious buy-in at grassroots level to succeed. And to do this, we need to be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves the hard questions - what is it that got us where we are? What were we doing differently from what other nations were doing to be landed with this outcome? We need to identify the causal factors and change the behavioural patterns of our society to stop new infections.   That said, welcome and commendable work is, however, acknowledged in the area of mother to child transmission that now boasts, as we hear, 95 per cent infection-free infants born to this nation. The population on ARVs’ increase, I believe, means, in part, that more people are coming forward. As I conclude, I am convinced that without lifestyle change we would continue claiming top spot in global AIDS prevalence statistics; that is, notwithstanding the many worthwhile interventions made.

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