We Are Fighting A Virus

ALLOW me space to congratulate the Government of Namibia for spearheading the campaign that aims to eradicate the spread of the incurable virus (HIV) that leads to a disease (AIDS) that is playing an important role in killing our people.

Let me also commend the Government for ensuring that the infected people are provided with services such as voluntary counselling, testing and supply of anti-retroviral drugs as well as those that prevent the virus to be passed from an infected mother to an unborn baby. One of the main challenges that derail the medication process is the availability or supply of nutritious food to patients.Many of the most infected and affected populous are the poor and vulnerable members of our society of whom many are unemployed and this leads them to be discriminated against and isolated by their family, relatives and society.Apart from the good things we are doing in curbing the dangerous health hazard, I have a problem with what message we are sending out.When Member of Parliament Ida Hoffman was speaking at the launch of the U-Khai/Yelula project, she said, “while HIV-AIDS is claimed to be non-discriminative in terms of the spectrum of the population that it effects, it can be termed a poor man’s disease”.Is HIV a disease or a virus? If we say HIV-AIDS is a disease, then we are telling people (youth) to avoid the disease and the virus, which is mostly spread through sex, is ignored.The figurative message of many HIV-AIDS campaigns among our people is: A very sickly and thin person.If we say “let’s fight AIDS now!” it is like we are shouting down those who are sick.The AIDS-related patients only need our moral support to live a stigma-free life and a motivation to seek medical support.Our energy and efforts should focus more on aiming to see an HIV-free nation.Once you eradicate the virus there would be no AIDS disease.What we need to fight, vigorously, is the stealthy, secretive and an invisible enemy number one: HIV virus! Our main focus must be to prevent new infections.All the role-players must opt for the best preventive measures.Which is the best method: abstinence, having a faithful partner or the use of a condom? We are now stranded between various beliefs.We can only make a difference once our people understand the respect of human dignity.That means knowing their constitutional rights and responsibility that go along with people behaving reasonably in the social, political and moral sense.Reliable reports have it that in Namibia: About 200 000 people are living with HIV, of which 56 per cent are women; at least 15 000 patients succumb to full-blown AIDS; and there are more than 85 000 AIDS orphans.What we need is to curb is a deadly virus! Martha N Amalenge Via e-mailOne of the main challenges that derail the medication process is the availability or supply of nutritious food to patients.Many of the most infected and affected populous are the poor and vulnerable members of our society of whom many are unemployed and this leads them to be discriminated against and isolated by their family, relatives and society.Apart from the good things we are doing in curbing the dangerous health hazard, I have a problem with what message we are sending out.When Member of Parliament Ida Hoffman was speaking at the launch of the U-Khai/Yelula project, she said, “while HIV-AIDS is claimed to be non-discriminative in terms of the spectrum of the population that it effects, it can be termed a poor man’s disease”.Is HIV a disease or a virus? If we say HIV-AIDS is a disease, then we are telling people (youth) to avoid the disease and the virus, which is mostly spread through sex, is ignored.The figurative message of many HIV-AIDS campaigns among our people is: A very sickly and thin person.If we say “let’s fight AIDS now!” it is like we are shouting down those who are sick.The AIDS-related patients only need our moral support to live a stigma-free life and a motivation to seek medical support.Our energy and efforts should focus more on aiming to see an HIV-free nation.Once you eradicate the virus there would be no AIDS disease.What we need to fight, vigorously, is the stealthy, secretive and an invisible enemy number one: HIV virus! Our main focus must be to prevent new infections.All the role-players must opt for the best preventive measures.Which is the best method: abstinence, having a faithful partner or the use of a condom? We are now stranded between various beliefs.We can only make a difference once our people understand the respect of human dignity.That means knowing their constitutional rights and responsibility that go along with people behaving reasonably in the social, political and moral sense.Reliable reports have it that in Namibia: About 200 000 people are living with HIV, of which 56 per cent are women; at least 15 000 patients succumb to full-blown AIDS; and there are more than 85 000 AIDS orphans.What we need is to curb is a deadly virus! Martha N Amalenge Via e-mail