EVEN though public health facilities continue providing HIV and AIDS medication with more players tackling the endemic, dealing with the condition, sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues, focus on the subject seems to be taking a dead seat, an activist has said.
Martha Todhlana told media health practitioners during a Media and Science Cafe Programme in Harare recently that it was sad to note HIV counselling issues had declined with a lot of people now out of support programmes and no longer getting some health services such as health checks and or monitoring.
"Once the universal programme started to say anyone who tests can just test and treat, I think issues of counselling have declined and also people not seeing the need for being in support groups.
"You will find that currently, a lot of people who are in support groups now are those who tested some years back, before we had the programme as it is, but those who started treatment in the test and treat programme, a lot of them are not in support groups because they don't see the need.
"I think a positive is that public health facilities continue providing HIV medication and there are more players tackling HIV, tackling sexual and reproductive health and rights, SRHR, but sadly I think focus on HIV seems to be taking a dead seat," Todhlana said.
All this, according to her, has been attributed to several reasons amongst them a weak psycho-social support system, a shift in funding which is now more focused on young people and to a certain extent, the emergence of non-communicable diseases that are on the increase.
"Many people with HIV are struggling with non-communicable diseases, which are not properly managed, and some non-communicable diseases come with extreme pain. Those sharing their experiences indicate that the pain management approach is almost close to none.
"I think this is linked to funding and there is a focus on young people, which is good, especially adolescent girls and young women.
"We have seen an improvement on the PrEP issues, but the realities that we consider as we get into 2025 include sadly that HIV stigma and discrimination persists, the level of domestic funding for health and particularly HIV is worryingly too low," Todhlana, who tested HIV positive in 2003 added.
She explained further: "And the continued focus on young people or the 0-49 age group ignores the effect of HIV successes, which means people are ageing with HIV.
"Because when we celebrate the success, by the way I turned 16 last week and I'm already out of the 0-49 age group and I get my treatment from the public health sector and it is very obvious that you are autistic outside, but I see so many people who are even older than me, living with HIV and getting their treatment and then you are left to your own individual and without the proper care and support.
"I think the HIV facility used to be linked to a robust psycho-social support system, but a lot of times I see that this is no longer available and also it was still for people who are more than 49."
According to Todhlana, her worry is the upkeep of the young adults born with HIV.
"I keep worrying about who is looking after them and the language we still use around young people is being reckless. We say I'm a 2,000 reckless, but we call, and they are putting themselves in situations where they can get HIV. They are putting themselves at risk, but we forget that there is that cohort of young people who were not reckless."
She said many of those who were born with HIV or might have got it from breast milk before we know what we know now are quite a big number in our population who are in this cohort.
"So, when I talk of people ageing with HIV, I include these young people. And then people diagnosed in their adulthood, like me, we have more than 20 years of treatment and I'm increasing in number."
Todhlana spoke of ART side effects saying a lot of lives were being lost because of less attention and monitoring to those taking ARVs.
"On the packaging of the ARVs, the side effects are written, they are very clearly written there to say your kidneys will be affected, your liver will be affected, you know, a whole lot of organs will be affected so they need to be monitored regularly.
"But I, I think the reason they are not being monitored is because when they were doing the monitoring there was external funding to do that and once the external fund has left, then it is no longer there because our labs are no longer eternally being funded."
She also raised issues to do with menopause and social isolation issues to those living with HIV.
"Menopause is coming much earlier for women with HIV than for those who do not have HIV. Maybe 10 years or so earlier.
"And then also the social isolation at times. With social isolation, I haven't been to church for three years now. I'm someone who enjoys going for Sunday services and going for midweek services. I haven't been inside a church for the past three years.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"I was diagnosed of HIV in 2000, then diagnosis of arthritis in my spine in 2008, that was five years after starting ARVs in 2003. But the ARVs we were taking, were too many, at least three tablets three times a day, compared to one tablet once a day. You see how our researchers continue to improve. Today we have progressed to one tablet every 24 hours."
She stated that research studies are very important.
"Clinical research and social research have been very important to the response to HIV. And also I'm hoping to see that there's also media doing their research as well, as media, to make sure that they contribute to the body of knowledge that is building on our HIV response," she explained.
Todhlana has a daughter, now at university, born without HIV to a mother living with HIV.
She gave credit to GALZ for the support given during her most difficult time of life.
