CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Stephen Rweikiza, Tanzania, November 1998
THEME = AIDS
The revelation that AIDS is
on the increase in Africa, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa
and that it could radically reduce life expectancy in the next
decade, is of serious concern,
especially in Tanzania which is counted among the 15 countries
having the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world
A few months ago, a regional conference on AIDS took place in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was concerned that AIDS is on the increase - alarmingly so, and will seriously affect the population growth in the region. AIDS is causing devastating human suffering and death in the continent. Botswana has the doubtful reputation of being in the lead, with one in every four people infected by the epidemic.
According to a recent World Bank report, AIDS has exceeded malaria and other diseases as the leading cause of adult deaths (in the 15-49 age range) in countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe; and in capital cities such as Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Nairobi (Kenya) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). The report says that by December last year, almost eight million African children were orphaned by the disease. Because of this frightening situation, the World Bank is looking for cost-effective modes of caring for the increasing number of AIDS patients in Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana.
It is however, unfortunate, that despite the alarming increase of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, there has been very little effort made to control the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)s which are HIV/AIDS-related. Neither to create awareness about these diseases and how they can be treated.
The existence of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania has been known for over ten years and the National Aids Policy was formed five years ago, to widen and strengthen the national response against HIV/AIDS and STDs.
Reported case are few in number when compared to the actual number known to exist. It seems that about only one in five AIDS cases are reported in the country, due to problems of diagnosing the disease, and other factors.
The purpose of the five-year AIDS Control Programme was to emphasise the raising of public awareness about the killer disease, but implementing this knowledge has been very slow and discouraging.
Small wonder that the outgoing World Health Organisation (WHO)'s representative in Tanzania, Dr Dirk Warning, has stressed the importance of political commitment, in an effort to combat the further spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.
On 31 October 1998, he told journalists in Dar-es-Salaam, that it was very disturbing to see the HIV/AIDS problem in the country getting worse and not better. Tanzania is lagging behind in political commitment and being open about the HIV/AIDS situation. "Look at neighbouring Uganda. That country has recorded a tremendous improvement in the HIV/AIDS situation due to her serious political commitment. Uganda has introduced public debates on AIDS, with President Museveni himself chairing weekly meeting on the pandemic."
Dr Warning then said: "Unfortunately, the AIDS scourge is getting worse in Tanzania. More and more people are infected. There is a constant rise of HIV-positive people among blood donors". He did not give any figures to back up his statement, but recent statistics from the leading referral hospital in the country, the Muhimbili Medical Centre, in Dar-es-Salaam, indicates that about one-fifth of the people who donated blood were found to be HIV- positive. Also, data obtained during 1997, shows the HIV-prevalence among pregnant women ranges from 7.3%-44.4% in rural areas and 22.0%-36% in urban areas.
Dr Warning then stressed the need for more efforts to be directed towards raising public awareness, so that people know about the situation. A few weeks ago, at a public rally, Tanzania's Prime Minister, Mr Frederick Sumaye, suggested the distribution of condoms in schools, but the proposal sounded strange and was certainly misunderstood in many quarters. Certainly, the Church would not have agreed with the PM's suggestion, as the Church links the use of condoms to sexual promiscuity. The Church is to the forefront in urging Christians to adhere to following set norms of morality and behaviour.
Following Dr Warning's intervention, Tanzania has embarked on a deliberate drive to intensify public awareness concerning the hazards of HIV/AIDS.
Dr Rowland Swai is manager of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) in Tanzania. He states that his organisation is planning a third phase to the Medium Term Plan (MTP) for fighting AIDS, to cover the period 1998 to 2000. The aim is to intensify the mobilisation of the entire population, especially the young generation, in the combat for preventing the further transmission of the HIV virus. "I must confess, though", said Dr Swai at a seminar in Moshi, Northern Tanzania, "that the campaign for HIV/AIDS awareness in our country has not made much impact on the public, and needs a maximum commitment from all Tanzanians if it is to succeed".
Why? Well, some experts believe part of the reasons for failure is because the government alone organised previous efforts such as the first phase of the MTP (1987-1991) and the second phase (1992- 1996).
Dr Swai said the MTP's third phase will start before the end of 1998 and will involve all multi-sectoral groups - the government, non-governmental organisation (NGO)s, community-based organisations and religious bodies. Over 20 sectors of the community will be involved in the campaign to bring political awareness on the killer disease, to the public from grass-root
But Tanzanians must accept priority responsibility for the campaign's success.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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