Why testing for HIV/AIDS disease

IT is now over a year since the National campaign for voluntary counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS disease was launched in July 2007 by President Jakaya Kikwete in the country. Many people most of whom youths and middle aged have emerged in response to the call to carry out the exercise in a bid to know their health status. Quite a good number of Tanzanian citizens responded possitively to the call made by the President who urged people to undergo such testing services in various testing centers such as the most popularly known as ‘Angaza centres’. The Angaza project, meaning ‘shed light’ in Kiswahili aims to remove the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS disease and therefore reduce the spread of the disease by encouraging every Tanzanian to know their HIV status. Since the project was launched, it has aimed at increasing access to quality testing and counselling services so that to provide community care support for those with HIV/AIDS. Using rapid HIV tests which are accurate, easy to perform, low cost and which require minimal laboratory equipment. Another aim for the project was to carry out training voluntary counselling and testing counsellors as well as increasing social marketing campaigns so as to improve awareness of testing sites and to dispel myths and stigma surrounding the disease. In the last 20 years, HIV/AIDS has spread rapidly across Tanzania, lowering life expectancy, ruining individual life, harming the national economy and and it’s the worst disaster leaving one in ten Tanzanian children orphaned. Whilst acknowledged as a national disaster, less than 10 percent of the country’s late teen and adult population are aware of their HIV status, rendering it impossible to contain the disease and difficult to care for those that have been already infected. For many Tanzanians, HIV/AIDS testing had remained stigmatised. Until recently, testing was carried out with little regard for confidentiality and was followed up with ineffective and inappropriate counselling. Girls and young women are often the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS disease and are three times more likely to be HIV positive than their male counterparts. This is partly the result of cultural traditions, which make it difficult for females to negotiate safe sex and refuse the advances of older men. Other cultural norms provide obstacles to the fight against HIV/AIDS. For example, married couples often fail to discuss sex despite the fact that half of HIV infections occur within marriage. Parents rarely talk to their children about their sexuality. Lack of openness increases ignorance and creates stigma and embarrassment around discovering one’s HIV status. Since the campaign for voluntary testing and couseling was launched, there is a tremendous achievements shown. Statistics made available by African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) shows that, over half a million people have been tested at voluntary counselling and testing sites throughout the country.

The governmemnt of the United States of America through its international aid agency (USAID) has been in the forefront in helping Tanzania’s initiatives on the fight against HIV/AIDS disease. To ensure an effective implementation of the policies and oprograms it has set, the organisation has placed a number of billboards for awareness of the scourge against a dreadful AIDS disease in the country. A billboard like this one written with the word “Kengele” advocates the message that informs men should not use their personalities to entice women, especially school girls with their money as an inducement to lure their minds into practicing immorality that is likely to result into AIDS infection.

The firm’s statistics further indicate that, the mostly affected group is aged between 15 and 49. Other statistics shows that HIV/AIDS disease prevalence rate stands at 8.8 percent according to the Ministry of Health and Social services. In order to win a comprehensive information on HIV transmission to the population, addressing the vulnerability of women and girls to violence and abuse, ensured access to condoms, clean needles and methadone and expanded access to anti-retroviral drugs is needed. A high profile, mass media campaign has publicised the HIV/AIDS epidemic and encouraged people to go for testing and become aware of their HIV status. The campaigns has also resulted into the establishment of post test clubs which have been set up to support those who have tested positive and to discuss HIV/AIDS related information. Despite of much sensitization on the exercise, the government and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) in the country still have a lot of work to do in the area of advocacy and creating awareness about the importance of HIV/AIDS voluntary testing and counseling. Most citizens are happy that they can test for their HIV status whenever they feel like and the fact that it is private and confidential and at no added cost as opposed to private hospitals and government health centres. At most Angaza centers in the country, each one who reports for voluntary testing is issued with a number used instead of one’s name through counseling and testing, though the confirmed status of each patient is relayed by word of mouth and not in a written form. A spot check at Manyoni based Angaza center, recently confirmed that the exercise of testing is going on with a number of people responding to the call including young couples who wants to get married. The increased access to HIV testing and counseling is essential to promoting earlier diagnosis of HIV infection, which in turn can maximize the potential benefits of life-extending treatment and care, and allow people with HIV to receive information and tools to prevent HIV transmission to others. People are wondering why should they get tested for HIV, but there are a number of benefits one gets out of this exercize as some of them may unknowingly be transmitting HIV to other people. It’s a strong insistence the government and the civil societies do strongly encourages people who are at risk for HIV to be tested regularly. Whether or not to take the HIV antibody test, however, is a personal decision that only one can make for himself or herself and also there are certain things one may wish to consider after realizing their health status. If one finds out that he or she is HIV-positive (infected with HIV), you and your healthcare providers can better plan early treatment and intervention, improving your chances of slowing down the progression of HIV disease. Suppose someone has undergone a test and found to have been negatively infected, may feel less anxious whatsoever. By knowing your status, you can find out whether or not you can infect others, and what precautions you might take to prevent transmission to other people. Regardless of the result, testing tends to increase one’s commitment to overall good health habits. If you test positive, you can learn more about HIV and be proactive in taking care of your health, and if one is considering having a baby, can take advantage of treatments that potentially prevent transmission of HIV to the baby.