What is HIV and AIDS?
Human
immune deficiency virus (HIV) the virus that causes AIDS (acute immune
deficiency syndrome) has caused havoc all over the world. Over the years
the disease has claimed many lives all over the world. Scientists, researchers
and medical practitioners are trying different ways to find the cure for the
disease. One major breakthrough in the
past decades was the discovery of anti-retroviral drugs that have helped to slow
down the replication of the virus thereby prolonging the life of the person
carrying the virus.
HIV
and AIDS is rated as the number 1 most dangerous infectious disease in the world.
The
first case of HIV was discovered in Malawi in 1985. From the 2010 Malawi Demographic
and Health Survey (MDHS) it is estimated that there are about 920,000 adults
and children living with HIV in Malawi as of 2009.
Malawi and HIV
What are the
major factors of HIV transmission in Malawi?
According
to the 2010 MDHS these are some of the major factors
contributing to HIV transmission in Malawi include:
·
Poverty
·
Low
literacy levels
·
High
levels of casual and transactional
unprotected sex in the general population particularly among youth between the
ages of 15-24
·
Low
level of male and female condom use
·
Cultural
and religious factors
·
Stigma
and discrimination
In an
effort to address these factors the National AIDS Commission (NAC) was
established in 2001. In 2003, a National
AIDS and HIV policy was launched by the Malawi Government through the office of
the president and cabinet (OPC). The
policy was developed a consultative process involving:
·
Civil
society organizations
·
Public
and private sector
·
Media
·
Persons
living with HIV
In
2004, a National AIDS and HIV framework
(NAF) was established as a tool to mobilize response to the HIV epidemic. Some
of the goals of NAF are;
1. To prevent the spread of HIV.
2. To provide access to treatment
for people living with HIV.
3. Mitigate the health and
socioeconomic and psychosocial impact of HIV on individuals, families,
communities and the nation.
4. Impact mitigation.
5. Main streaming, partnerships
and capacity building.
6. Research and development.
7. Monitoring and evaluation.
8. Resource mobilization and
utilization.
9. Policy coordination.
10. Programme planning.
I have
talked about the government efforts to combat the disease but what about the
Malawian population in general? Is there any knowledge of HIV and AIDS and
prevention?
To
reduce sexual transmission, a model for
behavior change was set up; this comprised of three
attributes:
1. Sexual
abstinence.
2. Mutually faithful
monogamy between HIV negative partners.
3. Condom use for
people not practicing abstinence.
Despite having the efforts from the government and other stakeholders providing civic education regarding the disease, there are several misconceptions that are held by the communities.
Common misconceptions
about HIV and AIDS
To
begin with, maybe it’s a good idea to understand what we mean by
misconceptions. A misconception can be defined as simply an ideology or belief
that does not reflect the true facts OR A view or opinion that is incorrect because based
on faulty thinking or understanding.
Here are some of the common misconceptions in Malawi:
1. A healthy person does not have AIDS.
2. HIV is transmitted by mosquito bites.
3. HIV is transmitted through supernatural means.
4. AIDS is transmitted through sharing food with a person who has
HIV or AIDS.
As funny as these may sound, these misconceptions present a problem in the knowledge
and understanding of the disease and its transmission.
In this article I am not going to dwell on the
methods of transmission of the disease but more on some of the major factors
that I mentioned earlier that contribute to the transmission of HIV and AIDS.
A widespread stigma and discrimination against
people who are HIV positive has generated fear, anxiety and prejudice against
people living with HIV. Despite this, there are still attitudes and practices
that people still indulge in which are risky and may propagate the spread of
HIV and AIDS.
Here are some of the practices;
Attitudes towards
condom use
Some
people believe that sex education and condom use for the youth promotes early
sexual initiation. In as much there could be some truth in this what is better;
let the youth contract HIV and AIDS blindly or educate them so they have a
chance to make the right decision regarding their sexuality?
It has
also been suggested that condom use between married couples or sexual partners
is a challenge. How do you negotiate with your partner for safer sex? According
to the 2010 MDHS, it was reported that over 90% of men and women believe that a
wife is justified taking some action to protect herself from HIV either by
refusing sexual intercourse or by requesting that her husband or partner use a
condom. In as much as this is the belief but is this what takes place in
reality?
Culture and tradition have always been respected in most communities
and societies, as such, there are some underlying issues regarding how a wife
should behave towards her husband and or partner which makes it difficult for
some women or wives to say no or ask them to use a condom even when they have
evidence that their husbands have a sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or
have been promiscuous. This has led to spread of STIs including HIV and AIDS.
Multiple sexual
partners
As
unreal as it may sound but there is a growing tendency where people think that
having multiple partners makes you more clever or “cool”. Some have multiple
partners because they want to make some extra money but on the other hand for
some it is just a habit which could be costly.
There
are two types of partnerships that I want to shed some light on with regards to
multiple sexual partners. These are concurrent and serial sexual partnerships.
1. Concurrent sexual
partnerships:
this is where a person has multiple partners and has sexual intercourse with
one partner between two acts of
intercourse with another partner (overlapping partnerships) (UNAIDS 2009).
2. Serial sexual
partnership (serial monogamy):
this is the opposite of concurrent partnerships, an individual may have
multiple sexual partners without
any overlapping partnerships.
Payment for sex
This
is also known as transactional sex, where
there is exchange
of money, gifts or favours for sexual intercourse. This practice is fast
growing and a cause of concern especially among the youth. Before it used to be
older men enticing young girls with money and gifts but now it is also older
women enticing young boys with the same. This practice is really dangerous as
there is an unseen sexual networks which are formed as the young girls or boys
that are involved with older partners for favours also have other sexual
partners (of their own age or other older people) and if one of them is
infected with HIV or STIs this is becomes a network for spreading the diseases.
So with this knowledge what can
we do to help the youth in our society?
HIV and AIDS related knowledge for the youth
Earlier
on I mentioned the need for sexual education for the youth and pointed out some
views regarding this in Malawi. When I say youth, I mean individuals between
the age of 15-24years. With the initial age for first sexual intercourse being
between 15
and 18 years for both boys and girls, it is my view that there is a
strong need of sex education and condom use.
The
youth need comprehensive knowledge of HIV and AIDS, as this is crucial for
their survival and future. So what is
considered as comprehensive knowledge in
this case?
According
to the 2010MDHS report, this is what is considered as comprehensive knowledge;
1. Knowing that
abstinence, condom use and having just one HIV-negative faithful partner can
reduce the chances of contracting HIV.
2. Knowing that a
healthy looking person can have HIV.
3. Rejecting the most common misconceptions about HIV transmission.
AIDS
continues to cause havoc around the world so let us work together to combat
this disease and help others know more about HIV and AIDS.
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