Enforce HIV tests: Official

THE present system of voluntary HIV-AIDS testing should be made compulsory in future since a rather low percentage of the population goes for testing, participants at a national planning conference have urged.

Statistics made available yesterday at the consultative conference for the third National Development Plan (NDP3), revealed that very few men in Namibia undergo voluntary testing to get to know their HIV status. “We need compulsory testing by passing a law,” said Eric Ndala, a Director in the Lands Ministry.”There are very few men undergoing an AIDS test.”About 31 per cent of young women and 12,9 per cent of young men between the ages 15 and 24 were tested for HIV and received results last year.These figures are to be increased by 2012 so that 38 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men in that age group will have tested.The percentage for men was regarded as too low during discussions yesterday.Dr Elisabeth Pape, Ambassador of the European Union, said Namibia had a HIV-AIDS prevalence rate of 20 per cent.”If so few men have gone for testing so far, what targets do you set for 2030?” she wanted to know.”If you don’t reduce the prevalence rate, Namibia will have to live with this pandemic for many years to come.”Barbara Rattay of the DTA party, one of the few opposition politicians who attended the conference, asked for a law to force HIV-infected men to care for their children.”We should make it compulsory for pregnant women who tested positive for AIDS to reveal the name of the father so that he is also forced to be tested.If his test is positive, he should be put on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) so that he remains healthy enough to work and care for the child and the mother,” Rattay proposed, receiving applause from the participants.Steve Katjiuanjo, Permanent Secretary in the Justice Ministry, questioned the reliability of only having pregnant women tested for HIV-AIDS in Namibia and only when they went for routine prenatal check-ups.”Some women are recorded again and again when they carry their second third or fourth child,” Katjiuanjo stated.”I personally do not believe that the currently accepted HIV-AIDS prevalence rate of 20 per cent is true.We should do other tests like the Survivor test done by Namdeb and also done in neighbouring Botswana,” the Permanent Secretary proposed.A female participant cautioned that slogans like ‘Abstain, be faithful and condomise’ were not easy for women to follow.”Women do not have much say when it comes to the use of condoms or abstinence,” she said.Ndala of the Lands Ministry said in his view, not enough condoms were being distributed.However, in a presentation by Abner Xoagub of the Health Ministry’s Multisectoral HIV-AIDS Response Unit, he showed that in 2000 some 14 million quality male condoms were distributed and in 2006 this had increased to 27,8 million.In the year 2000 about 3 000 female condoms were distributed and in 2006 this had increased to 583 775.The target was one million female condoms, he said.Participants were also concerned that condoms that are freely distributed by Government and some organisations are sold for cash at some shebeens.The Namibian carried a front-page story yesterday about a Swakopmund survey which revealed that at least 25 shebeens at the coastal town sold condoms that they had received for free distribution, The NDP3 conference ended yesterday.Cabinet Ministers, the private sector and civil society discussed the first draft of the NDP3, a 400-page document, which will undergo its final drafting process by the end of November.The NDP3 will be implemented between the 2007-08 and 2011-12 financial years.”We need compulsory testing by passing a law,” said Eric Ndala, a Director in the Lands Ministry.”There are very few men undergoing an AIDS test.”About 31 per cent of young women and 12,9 per cent of young men between the ages 15 and 24 were tested for HIV and received results last year.These figures are to be increased by 2012 so that 38 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men in that age group will have tested.The percentage for men was regarded as too low during discussions yesterday.Dr Elisabeth Pape, Ambassador of the European Union, said Namibia had a HIV-AIDS prevalence rate of 20 per cent.”If so few men have gone for testing so far, what targets do you set for 2030?” she wanted to know.”If you don’t reduce the prevalence rate, Namibia will have to live with this pandemic for many years to come.”Barbara Rattay of the DTA party, one of the few opposition politicians who attended the conference, asked for a law to force HIV-infected men to care for their children. “We should make it compulsory for pregnant women who tested positive for AIDS to reveal the name of the father so that he is also forced to be tested.If his test is positive, he should be put on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) so that he remains healthy enough to work and care for the child and the mother,” Rattay proposed, receiving applause from the participants.Steve Katjiuanjo, Permanent Secretary in the Justice Ministry, questioned the reliability of only having pregnant women tested for HIV-AIDS in Namibia and only when they went for routine prenatal check-ups.”Some women are recorded again and again when they carry their second third or fourth child,” Katjiuanjo stated.”I personally do not believe that the currently accepted HIV-AIDS prevalence rate of 20 per cent is true.We should do other tests like the Survivor test done by Namdeb and also done in neighbouring Botswana,” the Permanent Secretary proposed.A female participant cautioned that slogans like ‘Abstain, be faithful and condomise’ were not easy for women to follow.”Women do not have much say when it comes to the use of condoms or abstinence,” she said.Ndala of the Lands Ministry said in his view, not enough condoms were being distributed.However, in a presentation by Abner Xoagub of the Health Ministry’s Multisectoral HIV-AIDS Response Unit, he showed that in 2000 some 14 million quality male condoms were distributed and in 2006 this had increased to 27,8 million.In the year 2000 about 3 000 female condoms were distributed and in 2006 this had increased to 583 775.The target was one million female condoms, he said.Participants were also concerned that condoms that are freely distributed by Government and some organisations are sold for cash at some shebeens.The Namibian carried a front-page story yesterday about a Swakopmund survey which revealed that at least 25 shebeens at the coastal town sold condoms that they had received for free distribution, The NDP3 conference ended yesterday.Cabinet Ministers, the private sector and civil society discussed the first draft of the NDP3, a 400-page document, which will undergo its final drafting process by the end of November.The NDP3 will be implemented between the 2007-08 and 2011-12 financial years.