Health Ministry unveils new initiative against AIDS

THE Ministry of Health and Social Services on Friday unveiled a new public communication and behaviour change programme in the fight against HIV-AIDS.

The programme, which is called ‘Communication for Behavioural Impact’ (Combi), aims to address the question of prevention by looking at why people with sufficient knowledge of HIV-AIDS still engage in high-risk behaviour. Health Minister Richard Kamwi said that creating awareness is not the only solution.”Combi is not only about producing posters and T-shirts,” Dr Kamwi.The World Health Organisation’s country representative, Dr Custodia Mandlhate, said that the programme aims to provide “the link between knowledge and behaviour”.Nuzhat Ehsan, country representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reiterated that 84 per cent of Namibia’s population were knowledgeable about HIV-AIDS, and yet infection rates were only declining marginally.The programme, developed in Geneva by the World Health Organisation, borrows marketing strategies from the private business sector and applies them to social services, explained WHO Consultant Dr Everold Hossein.”It is easy to get people to know what to do; it is much harder to get them to do it”, he said.The system looks at preventive care in terms of cost-benefit calculations and follows steps established in the international private sector.The campaign will be implemented in the Caprivi, Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa regions, and in some parts of the Khomas Region.Friday’s press conference in Windhoek was also used to hand out prizes to the winners of the World AIDS Day essay competition, hosted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Health and Social Services through The Namibian Youth Paper last year.Minister Kamwi used the opportunity to reiterate his pledge to Namibia’s youth in the fight against HIV.He said there was zero tolerance of new HIV infections among the youth and that young people are the key targets of this campaign.The winner of the essay competition, Petrina Thomas (25), said that young people were allowed to make mistakes, but there were some mistakes that they could not afford to make.Her essay was chosen from among 87 entries.The two runners-up are Hendrina Kangwe (18) and Magdalena Ileka (16).The winner received N$1 000, while the two runners-up each received N$500.Health Minister Richard Kamwi said that creating awareness is not the only solution.”Combi is not only about producing posters and T-shirts,” Dr Kamwi. The World Health Organisation’s country representative, Dr Custodia Mandlhate, said that the programme aims to provide “the link between knowledge and behaviour”.Nuzhat Ehsan, country representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reiterated that 84 per cent of Namibia’s population were knowledgeable about HIV-AIDS, and yet infection rates were only declining marginally.The programme, developed in Geneva by the World Health Organisation, borrows marketing strategies from the private business sector and applies them to social services, explained WHO Consultant Dr Everold Hossein.”It is easy to get people to know what to do; it is much harder to get them to do it”, he said.The system looks at preventive care in terms of cost-benefit calculations and follows steps established in the international private sector.The campaign will be implemented in the Caprivi, Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa regions, and in some parts of the Khomas Region.Friday’s press conference in Windhoek was also used to hand out prizes to the winners of the World AIDS Day essay competition, hosted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Health and Social Services through The Namibian Youth Paper last year.Minister Kamwi used the opportunity to reiterate his pledge to Namibia’s youth in the fight against HIV.He said there was zero tolerance of new HIV infections among the youth and that young people are the key targets of this campaign.The winner of the essay competition, Petrina Thomas (25), said that young people were allowed to make mistakes, but there were some mistakes that they could not afford to make.Her essay was chosen from among 87 entries.The two runners-up are Hendrina Kangwe (18) and Magdalena Ileka (16).The winner received N$1 000, while the two runners-up each received N$500.