6 July 2009
press release
IT is not far fetched to assume most people now have concluded that it is impossible to reduce the prevalence rate of HIVAids because of the attitude that people have towards the pandemic.
This has been compounded by the fact there is no known cure of the disease and that poverty, moral decay and many social ills continue to afflict a larger part of our society.
Vices such as prostitution still continue and even those in marriages engage in multiple sexual relationships, which make control of the spread of the disease difficult.
Some faith-based organisations have also been holding back the fight against HIV/Aids by condemning the use of condoms and insisting that abstinence alone should be the key in the fight against the pandemic.
Other factors such as stigmatisation and unwillingness by people to go for voluntary counseling and testing have worked against the efforts being made to fight the pandemic.
But the news coming from the Copperbelt shows that not all is lost and it is possible to reduce the pandemic even with the challenges that arise in the process.
The HIV prevalence on the Copperbelt has been reduced from 23 per cent to 17 and officials hope that the prevalence rate may get to single digit levels soon. This is indeed good news.
Provincial Aids taskforce (PATF) coordinator Violet Mutinta says the reduction is because of collaboration between Government departments and other stakeholders such the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the church.
She attributes the reduction to increased number of VCT centres, which has enabled more to access such centres for VCT.
Ms Mutinta also reveals that there are a high number of people using condoms in the province and this reduces the risks of infections.
This shows that with co-ordination, perseverance, dedication and adequate resources, what is happening on the Copperbelt can be replicated in other parts of Zambia.
This can be achieved if more people are encouraged to go to easily accessible and user friendly VCT centres for counseling and testing. It is easier to change people once they acquire sufficient knowledge.
It is hoped that authorities from other parts of Zambia will take a cue from the Copperbelt PATF that has shown that not all is lost and that where there is a will, there is always a way.
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