Getting Malawi on the path to Zero infection

Not so long ago, HIV was spoken of in hushed tones. With few or nonexistent awareness campaigns and the lack of access to testing and counselling services as well as treatment, being tested HIV positive often read like a death sentence. Oftentimes, people kept their status to themselves because they did not want to be discriminated against or looked at as a walking corpse. Society simply did not understand what the virus was, how it was spread and what could be done to manage it. In 1991, when US basketball star Magic Johnson told the world that he was HIV positive, people thought he had gone crazy. A lot more said he would not live on for long. Even though I was merely a child who did not understand a thing at the time, I remember hearing about Johnson and passing on the message to my friends.

Today, different threads weave the story. Malawi has made remarkable strides in responding to HIV and with intensive campaigns and tireless efforts from government and stakeholders, a lot of people know what the virus is. They understand how to prevent it, they know how to manage it and realise that having an HIV positive status is not the end of the world. According to statistics, currently over 250 000 patients are on ART, up from 13 000 in 2004.

The prevalence rate has dropped down from 13.8 percent in 2001 to 11 percent in 2010. In 2005, only 5.4 percent of HIV positive women received drugs to prevent mother to child transmission and by 2010 this had risen to 68 percent.

Unfortunately, ‘Malawi is still a country where the epidemic is a serious issue. At 73 000 new infections per year, the equivalent of 200 new infections per day, there are still too many people acquiring the disease. At 51 000 Aids-related deaths every year, equivalent to 127 Jumbo jets crashing, each killing 400 passengers, there are too many people dying’, to quote former vice-president Justin Malewezi.

The figures might be scary, but with a strong political will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based approach, we can get Malawi on the path to zero; Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination and Zero Aids Related Deaths.

We all know what we ought to do in contribution to this zero tolerance to HIV and Aids but how many of us actually put this into practice?

Let’s get tested regularly, remain faithful to our partners, abstain from sex or practice safer sex if we can’t. Remember; an HIV free generation is possible and it begins with YOU.