Azore Opio
4 December 2008
The Cameroon government has made the fight against HIV/AIDS one of its top priorities, not only because it is killing her citizens, but because the HIV/AIDS scourge has become a social problem, threatening the prosperity, stability and development of the nation.
The treatment of AIDS has gone beyond just reducing the risk of transmission from mother to child and the drug regiment to early diagnosis, prevention, nutritional, clinical, psychological and global care of household members of infected parties.
But despite the fact that today, AIDS patients are enjoying highly subsidized pre-therapeutic laboratory tests and free treatment, it has been discovered that females are more vulnerable and are the most infected by the AIDS virus.
An irony, however, obtains whereby studies have shown that the urban educated population is more infected than the less educated rural population by the HIV virus.
According to Dr. Pascal Atanga Nji, Technical Coordinator at the Southwest Regional Technical Group, the prevalence rate in the Southwest at the moment stands at 8.5 percent, with it being the third most infected region.
Of this percentage, he said more females between the ages of 20 and 30 are infected.
Statistics also indicate that the infection rate among 22,000 pregnant women tested in 2007 was 8.5 percent and the rate among 18,000 tested this year is 8.1 percent.
Dr. Atanga said women may naturally be vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, but explained that their vulnerability is exacerbated by poverty, consequently leading them to pander to sex for favours, gifts and money.
This exposes them to the high-risk group of affluent men (sugar daddies) who are invariably in the age bracket of 45 -50.As to the mother-to-child infection rate, Atanga said if pregnant women were left to carry their foetuses, deliver them and breastfeed them, 30 percent of the children would be infected.
He, however, said if care is taken and medication is administered during pregnancy, labour and delivery; and the mothers did not breastfeed their babies, the mother-to-child infection rate would be cut down to as little as 5 percent.
The Southwest PTG Coordinator said since free tests and anti-retroviral treatment went into operation in May 2007, and drugs are more accessible coupled with aggressive sensitisation, their recruitment of patients has doubled.
This observation is corroborated by Dr. Edouard Tshimwanga Katayi, head of the AIDS treatment centre at the CBC Hospital, Mutengene."When highly subsidised pre-treatment tests and free treatment were instituted in May 2007, more patients began turning up. Now we have at least 1000 patients on our list with 500 adults and 31 children undergoing regular treatment," Dr. Tshimwanga told this reporter.
In all, there should be more than 5,000 enrolled AIDS patients in the Southwest Region.
One other factor, according to Tshimwanga, that has encouraged more patients to register for treatment is the five treatment centres that CBC Hospital authorities have developed.
Meanwhile, Dr. Atanga said there are now more than a dozen treatment centres in the Southwest with the newest in Nyassoso, Tombel and Bangem in Kupemuanenguba Subdivision.
Generally, poverty, ignorance and stigma are the challenges in the fight against HIV/AIDS. But perhaps the most daunting obstacle in managing HIV/AIDS is the lack of adherence to treatment, whereby patients go on drug holidays.
This break is likely to cause resistance to the anti-retrovirals and may be dangerous for the patient, the experts say.Nonetheless, with more support groups to encourage adherence, correctly prescribed treatment and respect of the treatment regiment, AIDS patients can contain the disease and live longer.
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