Harare — HOW do you honour those living with HIV and Aids when the bulk of them are suffering?

How do you honour them when they are hungry and do not have access to care and treatment? When some of them are dying right in front of your eyes and you are not able to help them much? These are some of the questions that have been raised following last week's installment dwelling on the International Candlelight Memorial -- a day that honours those who have died of Aids and those living with it. Zimbabwe and the rest of the world commemorated this day on May 19. It was indeed honourable for the Zimbabwe Aids Network to organise the march and other events for the occasion, but the questions people are asking today go beyond that one day of remembering. The questions that are coming forth have more to do with every day, which is more important than one day. After all, life is an every day thing, till it ends. While it was a noble thing to do something special on May 19, what about now and tomorrow, they ask? The reality is that out of at least 400 000 people needing anti-retr oviral treatment (ART), only 31 000 are on it.

The reality is that with HIV, one needs to eat nutritious meals but only a few are managing to buy one decent meal a day. While it would be good for those living with the virus to see their doctor regularly, the reality is that they are not able to do it because they don't even have a dime most of the times. It now costs at least $3 million for the good doctor to spend five minutes of his or her time with you, by the way, and how many have that? The Government says people, including those who cannot pay, should access treatment when they walk into a health institution but that is not happening. Where would one even get the guts to walk into a clinic or hospital without cash and expect treatment. Asi uchida kushurwa zvako nemanurse kanhi? People are ridiculed and turned away from these health centres at times because they do not have money. So why would one invite ridicule upon themselves by walking in there without money? Not me ! And that is what our comrades who are already down with Aids say too. "If you really want to honour us, put systems in place that make life bearable for us, that makes it easier for us to live with this condition, which is just like any other, BP, diabetes, etc," said Edna who says she is living positively with HIV.

On the issue of the South African private television station, e-tv the other night, people said one reason people remained hesitant of testing for HIV was because of the stigma and discrimination that comes along with testing positive. True that! Do people treat those they know to be positive the same way they treat everybody else? Do those that have begun to show the signs of being HIV positive fit in with everybody else?

Do those that test positive get the necessary support, care and treatment that they should? If the answer to these questions is "No" then should we not begin to acknowledge the truth: that when it comes to really honouring those living with H IV and Aids, there is still a lot that needs to be done. More money needs to go towards ARVs because people cannot die from something that, with the right treatment, can be managed. Treatment is now available for goodness' sake. Why would any government leave people dying of something it can easily remedy by making treatment accessible and available? Without mincing words, our neighbours in Botswana just walk into a clinic and get drugs. If Aids is indeed a state of emergency, then should ARVs not be there on the same level with fuel and electricity? ARVs should be available in every pharmacy on the street, every clinic and hospital so that those who need them can walk in and get them just the same way with diabetes and high blood pressure medicines and contraceptives That is what a state of emergency calls for.

Whether they are imported or manufactured locally, the point is they are needed. As soon as they are available, testing centres will be filled with people rushing to find out their status because they will know that whatever the result, they will be taken care of. As long as the situation remains as sad as it is today people, that is you and me, will continue to go around without testing because being HIV positive and negative at the end of the day does not make a difference. Some pregnant women even say they do not see why they should test because if they test positive - they are doomed. Ensuring through the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) that the baby is negative to them is foolish as it means they (the mother) will die while their child grows up without a mother. "That is the worst thing that could happen in this environment. Right now I am alive and I can't give my baby the food I would want them to eat. What more when I am dead. "Who would be able, after struggling with their own family already, to also take my child in. I will just have my babies and if God wishes them to be fine they will be and so will I be t hen I will take care of them not to look for trouble going for a test," said one woman, a good friend of mine who is educated and very intelligent.

Would you blame her? While I told her that kind of thinking was dangerous, there were some truths in what she said. If you are going to save the baby, make sure you also save the mother for a child without a mother will just end up dying too. She will end up on the street, exposed to HIV infection again or he will be a thief or someone who cannot afford to get an education. While I applaud the efforts already underway on the part of the Government, the National Aids Council and several other partners, among them United Nations organisations, other non-governmental organisations and civic society, we still have not done our best. Because of that, whether HIV negative or positive, some among us will continue to engage in risky sexual behaviour thereby unknowingly infecting others. Why? Just because they can and because it does not make a difference either way. Is that what we want? To be a people without honour.

A people that watches while people die unnecessarily, a people that thinks this is somebody else's problem and not theirs. The reality is Aids is here and it wants you and me. The trick is to try and beat it. Taking care and treatment is one of the first and very important steps towards realising this goal.