Steady Progress As ARV Rollout Gathers Momentum
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, January 4, 2006
MAPUTO- When Maria (last name withheld), 35 years old and HIV-positive, reflects on the past year she gives an answer that a growing number of Mozambicans living with HIV/AIDS would probably echo.
"The year 2005 has been good for my health. It has got so much better because this year I started taking ARVs (antiretroviral drugs)," she told PlusNews.
Maria is one of 17,000 people now accessing ARVs of a national target to treat 20,000 people by the end of 2005.
"This is a major milestone, considering we started to roll [out] ARVs so late because the necessary health infrastructure was not in place," said Ivo Correia, a UNAIDS project officer.
During 2005 the government cranked up its treatment programme to reach double the number of people receiving the life-prolonging medication - a year ago, in December 2004, only between 8,000 and 9,000 Mozambicans were getting the drugs.
Even better news was that "the quality of service and support the patients receive has improved, with more health workers trained this year," Correia noted.
Maria's biggest problem in 2005 was a lack of food. "I am meant to eat a nutritious diet now that I am on ARVs, but there is not enough food for me and my family," said the single parent of two.
Her family relies on food provided by the UN World Food Programme and 'Kindlimuka', Mozambique's first association of people living with HIV. She receives no support from her husband, a driving instructor, who left her four years ago when she told him she was HIV positive.
In a country where 54 percent of the 18 million population live below the poverty line, Maria's
situation is typical of many women.
Despite working as a counsellor to patients receiving ARVs at Maputo Central Hospital as well as at her local health post, Maria has not yet publicly disclosed her status. "Stigma is still a major problem for people living with HIV," Correia pointed out.
He admitted that despite the progress achieved during the year, "a more systematic approach" was needed to address the pandemic.
As the National Action Plan for 2005-2009 gathers momentum, Correia is optimistic about the country's HIV/AIDS efforts in 2006. "We're moving now from policy into action: indicators are in place to measure progress, there will be more coordination, less duplication and we shall see the gaps more clearly," he said.
Maria hopes that in 2006 she will be rewarded for her efforts. "I am counselling people, but it is all voluntary. I don't want to live off handouts - the government should give us something."
Despite the encouraging results of the ARV rollout in 2005, an estimated 200,000 adults are in need of ARV treatment, with children lagging far behind: around 62,000 need treatment, but by mid-2005 only 1,226 were receiving it; few children receive Cotrimoxazole, a low-cost antibiotic that can nearly halve child deaths from AIDS-related diseases for only US $0.03 a day.
The UN children's agency (UNICEF) representative in Mozambique, Leila Pakkala, stressed the need for people to become aware of the importance of diagnosing and treating HIV-positive youngsters. "Communities aren't aware that such treatment can be available for children, so a demand needs to be created," she noted.
Moreover, despite the fact that as many as 326,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS, and more than 500,000 are caring for sick family members, many children do not receive support enabling them to stay in school.
Another population group to be targeted in 2006 will be the 800,000 people in the drought-affected southern half of Mozambique. The communities in the region are reeling from the double whammy of economic hardship and HIV/AIDS, which has risen along the main transport route to South Africa.
Traditional male employment in the mines in neighbouring South Africa is also drying up, while agriculture has been affected by both drought and the loss of those who fall sick and die of AIDS-related illnesses.
HIV prevalence is generally higher in these areas, for example, 18 percent of people living in Gaza province are living with HIV/AIDS, while recent health ministry figures indicate that national HIV prevalence has increased from 14.9 percent to 16.2 percent over the past two years, and women like Maria and young girls are worst-affected.
The rise in prevalence meant that Mozambique could not afford to neglect its prevention activities this year, Correia warned.
"We need to have prevention activities [implemented] regularly in a consistent and systematic manner throughout the country. People need to hear the message constantly so they talk about these issues openly," he stressed. "This is the only way to convert messages into behavioural change."
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
Source: AllAfrica.com
MAPUTO- When Maria (last name withheld), 35 years old and HIV-positive, reflects on the past year she gives an answer that a growing number of Mozambicans living with HIV/AIDS would probably echo.
"The year 2005 has been good for my health. It has got so much better because this year I started taking ARVs (antiretroviral drugs)," she told PlusNews.
Maria is one of 17,000 people now accessing ARVs of a national target to treat 20,000 people by the end of 2005.
"This is a major milestone, considering we started to roll [out] ARVs so late because the necessary health infrastructure was not in place," said Ivo Correia, a UNAIDS project officer.
During 2005 the government cranked up its treatment programme to reach double the number of people receiving the life-prolonging medication - a year ago, in December 2004, only between 8,000 and 9,000 Mozambicans were getting the drugs.
Even better news was that "the quality of service and support the patients receive has improved, with more health workers trained this year," Correia noted.
Maria's biggest problem in 2005 was a lack of food. "I am meant to eat a nutritious diet now that I am on ARVs, but there is not enough food for me and my family," said the single parent of two.
Her family relies on food provided by the UN World Food Programme and 'Kindlimuka', Mozambique's first association of people living with HIV. She receives no support from her husband, a driving instructor, who left her four years ago when she told him she was HIV positive.
In a country where 54 percent of the 18 million population live below the poverty line, Maria's
situation is typical of many women.
Despite working as a counsellor to patients receiving ARVs at Maputo Central Hospital as well as at her local health post, Maria has not yet publicly disclosed her status. "Stigma is still a major problem for people living with HIV," Correia pointed out.
He admitted that despite the progress achieved during the year, "a more systematic approach" was needed to address the pandemic.
As the National Action Plan for 2005-2009 gathers momentum, Correia is optimistic about the country's HIV/AIDS efforts in 2006. "We're moving now from policy into action: indicators are in place to measure progress, there will be more coordination, less duplication and we shall see the gaps more clearly," he said.
Maria hopes that in 2006 she will be rewarded for her efforts. "I am counselling people, but it is all voluntary. I don't want to live off handouts - the government should give us something."
Despite the encouraging results of the ARV rollout in 2005, an estimated 200,000 adults are in need of ARV treatment, with children lagging far behind: around 62,000 need treatment, but by mid-2005 only 1,226 were receiving it; few children receive Cotrimoxazole, a low-cost antibiotic that can nearly halve child deaths from AIDS-related diseases for only US $0.03 a day.
The UN children's agency (UNICEF) representative in Mozambique, Leila Pakkala, stressed the need for people to become aware of the importance of diagnosing and treating HIV-positive youngsters. "Communities aren't aware that such treatment can be available for children, so a demand needs to be created," she noted.
Moreover, despite the fact that as many as 326,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS, and more than 500,000 are caring for sick family members, many children do not receive support enabling them to stay in school.
Another population group to be targeted in 2006 will be the 800,000 people in the drought-affected southern half of Mozambique. The communities in the region are reeling from the double whammy of economic hardship and HIV/AIDS, which has risen along the main transport route to South Africa.
Traditional male employment in the mines in neighbouring South Africa is also drying up, while agriculture has been affected by both drought and the loss of those who fall sick and die of AIDS-related illnesses.
HIV prevalence is generally higher in these areas, for example, 18 percent of people living in Gaza province are living with HIV/AIDS, while recent health ministry figures indicate that national HIV prevalence has increased from 14.9 percent to 16.2 percent over the past two years, and women like Maria and young girls are worst-affected.
The rise in prevalence meant that Mozambique could not afford to neglect its prevention activities this year, Correia warned.
"We need to have prevention activities [implemented] regularly in a consistent and systematic manner throughout the country. People need to hear the message constantly so they talk about these issues openly," he stressed. "This is the only way to convert messages into behavioural change."
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
Source: AllAfrica.com
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 8:15 am
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