Back to Index

HIV/AIDS - Holistic approach vital
allAfrica.com
June 05, 2007

http://allafrica.com/stories/200706050619.html

Zimbabwe is one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a high incidence of HIV and AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly 65 percent of the estimated over 40 million people living with HIV in the world. Research has also revealed that at least one in four adults is living with HIV in Zimbabwe and that at least two million children have been orphaned by the pandemic. Although anti-retroviral drugs have been made available to keep Aids-related deaths to a minimum, thousands still do not have access to treatment.

On the bright side, the numbers of people accessing treatment from Government hospitals has risen from 60 000 to 80 000. But this is not reflective of the actual people requiring therapy. Over 300 000 people countrywide are in desperate need of ARVs. The AIDS pandemic has not spared any sector in Zimbabwe. Politicians, doctors, nurses, truck drivers, teachers, sports personalities, musicians, journalists and many others have succumbed to the disease, since the first case was diagnosed in Zimbabwe in 1985. It is a condition that cuts across the cultural and ethnic divide and that requires Government intervention to ensure ARVs are readily available to mitigate the impact of the disease.

While the majority of HIV and Aids intervention programmes throughout the world are funded at the multilateral or bilateral level, this is not the case with Zimbabwe. Because of the illegal sanctions imposed by the Western countries, Zimbabwe has been denied its share of global funds to adequately stock health institutions with ARVs. The Global Fund allocation in other countries is US$210 per person and yet Zimbabwe gets a paltry US$10 per person. This is a clear example of sanctions that have targeted all aspects of our economy and this has unfortunately derailed efforts to ensure health for all by 2010.

Access to health is a basic human right. It is therefore imperative for the Government to mobilise more resources and foreign currency together to import raw materials for the local manufacture of ARVs. Although Varichem Pharmaceuticals produces ARVs in Zimbabwe, the bulk of the life-prolonging drugs are imported, at considerable expense to the Treasury. However, the major challenge facing Zimbabwe is limited foreign currency to import ARVs. It is therefore logical for the Government to find other means to produce ARVs locally and on a much wider scale. It also makes sense to look to the East where these drugs are produced in abundance at affordable prices. India is a good example.

Constant intake of ARVs will stop mutation of the virus and this means that those infected can live longer. This would also boost Zimbabwe's economy. Other medical conditions that require attention include tuberculosis, which falls under the opportunistic infections that are taking a heavy toll on people living with HIV. Treatment of tuberculosis also relies heavily on donor funding. The increasing occurrence of multiple drug-resistant TB and HIV is, however, likely to further derail efforts to bring the two diseases under control. A wholesome approach to these ailments and other chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes, whose treatments have shot beyond the reach of many patients, should also be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP