World AIDS Day - December 1, 2011
To-day I will leave Lilongwe for Namitete. Shannon MacPherson, the daughter of the B&B owner, lives near Namitete and has kindly offered to drive me to St. Gabriel's later in the afternoon. In the meantime I plan to see more of Lilongwe but first, I am curious to find out how the media will respond to this special commemorative day. "THE NATION" has published a supplement for World Aids Day on the history of HIV in Malawi (first diagnosed in 1985), and all the multi-faceted challenges that continue - effects of poverty, malnutrition, prevention measures, stigmatization, mother to child transmission, need for VCT(voluntary counselling and treatment), and access to ARV's (anti-retrovirals).
By 1999, prevalence rates had reached an alarmingly high 16.2% of the population. The most important component of the HIV and AIDS response in Malawi has been the treatment program. New policies and programmes plus ARV's were introduced to Malawi by Medicines Sans Frontiers in 2001. By 2010, the prevalence rate had dropped to 11%.
To-day over 250,000 patient's are on A.R.T.(anti-retroviral therapy). The prevention of mother to child transmission is making good progress. Now 68% of HIV positive pregnant women receive ART. However, that means that 32% are NOT receiving ART and are therefore at risk of passing on HIV to their babies. I will be very interested to see how St. Gabriel's is responding to this situation.
UNAids (2011) concludes that "Malawi is a country where the HIV epidemic is a serious issue. At, 73,000 new infections per year, there are still too many people acquiring the disease." The highest risk group for HIV infection are women, for a multitude of reasons, power imbalance being first and foremost. Least at risk are the age group 5 years to 14 years. This group is called the "Window of Hope". It is hoped that this generation can drastically reduce prevalence rates. The need for supporting young people has never seemed so urgent. Support for World Vision's Area Development Project work through child sponsorship in Malawi is critical.
By 1999, prevalence rates had reached an alarmingly high 16.2% of the population. The most important component of the HIV and AIDS response in Malawi has been the treatment program. New policies and programmes plus ARV's were introduced to Malawi by Medicines Sans Frontiers in 2001. By 2010, the prevalence rate had dropped to 11%.
To-day over 250,000 patient's are on A.R.T.(anti-retroviral therapy). The prevention of mother to child transmission is making good progress. Now 68% of HIV positive pregnant women receive ART. However, that means that 32% are NOT receiving ART and are therefore at risk of passing on HIV to their babies. I will be very interested to see how St. Gabriel's is responding to this situation.
UNAids (2011) concludes that "Malawi is a country where the HIV epidemic is a serious issue. At, 73,000 new infections per year, there are still too many people acquiring the disease." The highest risk group for HIV infection are women, for a multitude of reasons, power imbalance being first and foremost. Least at risk are the age group 5 years to 14 years. This group is called the "Window of Hope". It is hoped that this generation can drastically reduce prevalence rates. The need for supporting young people has never seemed so urgent. Support for World Vision's Area Development Project work through child sponsorship in Malawi is critical.