The
National Council for People Living with HIV/Aids in Tanzania (NACOPHA) has
warned about the flounting of the disease’s prevention and control law, saying
this was frustrating government efforts to combat the disease.
Nacopha
board chairman Vitalis Makayula told reporters yesterday in Dar es Salaam after
he had attended the 5th HIV/Aids Stakeholders Main/ Policy Review meeting
organised by the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) that the group was
facing a number of challenges caused by the flouting of the HIV/Aids law.
During
the meeting, which comprised participants from the government, policy makers,
civil society organisations and people living with HIV/Aids, the chairman said
it will still be hard for the government to attain 3-zeros in the country.
"The
government has a number of good initiatives aiming at attaining the 3-zeros response
of HIV/Aids target in the country. However a growing trend by people to flout
the HIV/Aids Act of 2008 has resulted in minimal results," the chairman
claimed.
Citing
the 2008 HIV/AIDS law, Makayula explained that it had assured people living
with HIV that the government would, using available resources, ensure that
every person living with HIV and Aids, vulnerable children and orphans are
accorded with basic health services, but the situation on the ground was that
the victims only had access to free ARVs and not other medicines.
He
noted further that the law also barred individuals, institutions or groups from
promoting traditions which may enhance HIV/Aids spread in the community, but
said there were adverts on traditional medicine which were said to be a cure
for the disease.
“People
are lured into not using their ARVs simply because they are told or advised to
use other traditional medicines, which turn out to be ineffective,” he said.
He
urged the government to hold to account all individuals claiming to be having a
cure for HIV/Aids, stressing that failure to do so will result in the
importation of more expensive ARVs.
For
his part, the Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office Peniel Lyimo
said no one had the mandate to announce discovery of a cure except the ministry
of Health and Social Welfare.
Chairperson
of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS Dr Fatuma Mrisho acknowledged there being
traditional herbalists and religious leaders who have been illegally announcing
to have a cure for HIV/Aids, saying they were frustrating government
initiatives in achieving the 3-zeros target.
·
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
0 comments:
Post a Comment