The devastating impact of AIDS in Namibia demonstrates how difficult it can be to control the disease, even in a country with good governance and economic opportunity.
This was stated by Emma Tuahepa, the first Namibian woman to publicly disclose being HIV-positive.
Tuahepa in an interview to mark World AIDS Day, on Thursday told Nampa that the government is doing its part to combat HIV, referring to the support as intersectional.
She stated that Namibia should consider itself fortunate to have the government’s support and that its people should focus on what is negatively associated with the disease, namely stigma and discrimination, and work on that instead, as it has not changed since her era, but has gotten worse.
Tuahepa suggested that Government incorporate the human element of dealing with the disease into existing programmes, in order to assure people that, despite the fact that there are many elements associated with the disease, one can have a normal life and be treated as any other normal human being whose HIV status is different.
“I’ve had this disease for over 20 years. I made the decision to get medicated, adopt a healthy mindset, and stop spreading the disease. If more Namibians take that approach rather than focusing on the negative aspects, we can collectively create a nation that supports each other regardless of their status,” she said.
In a separate interview, activist Zack Makari stated that while Namibia is doing well in terms of providing medication, this year’s theme calls for the government to equalise community engagements by strengthening community response.
Makari said, one of the main issues identified by the umbrella network of civil society is nutritional support, adding that while the medication is required, it must be supplemented by proper nutrition.
“In some cases, people have their medication, but they end up being too hungry to even take the medication, which compromises the entire set-up because once you stop drinking your tablets, issues of non-adherence occur, which complicates matters even more,” he said.
He proposed including people with disabilities in information sharing so that they, too, feel included, as well as providing transportation to people in rural areas so that they can reach areas where they can get medication.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
