Talking about AIDS

mamacita · Member

Talking about AIDS

Hot_ChocT · Newbie

In the next 5 years more than 50% of the adult population will be infected by the AIDS "VIRUS" if we as a people do not come together and acknowledge the deadly effects this diseases is having on our nation. We do not talk abou it openly because people are either scared, indenial, all someother reasons. Yeah "he/she looks fine?" that statement is dangerous.......think about it....we have to start talking about it openly.

Mamacita I have to applaud you for starting such a topic that's worth disussing.

mamacita · Member

It might just be the 2 of us who will end up discussing this. I am in agreement with you about the fact that we still don't talk about it. It's like "ughh! depressing can we talk about something else?" But while depressing it is, reality says that we have to come to terms with it, realize that it is an issue that is wiping Malawi out (whether we lie to ourselves and say...he/she died with 'malungo' or 'kidney complications'. Whatever it is, the fact remains that AIDS is taking toll.

I bet most of us probably know someone who either has the virus or someone who died. That being the case, I think our feelings for those loved ones should at least spur us on to talk about it openly, be realistic and also have a healthy fear about it. And what of the idea that people need and should get tested to know if they have it or not?

Tiyo · Newbie

We should indeed talk more about HIV and AIDS and stop stigmatizing victims of it. If we treat it as any other disease, then may be people will not be afraid /ashamed to get help. Education is the answer. I know of people who have died of aids because they believed (or pretended) that they were victims of Voodou (witch craft).These days there are medication that can help people live longer and healthier lives. The key is to address the problem at its initial stage. I agree with you, mamacita, that voluntary testing could prove to be quite beneficial in the war against HIV/AIDS.

logo · Newbie

An interesting topic.I personally think that AIDS is being talked about in Malawi the only problem is that people haven't fully realised the reality of it.An number of donour organizations are doing a great job espeacially in the rural areas educating them about AIDS.

The problem with these people is that they refuse 2 use protective measures such as condoms, their urgument is that theres no need for married people 2 b using condoms becoz there's trust in their relationship.I hav done a number of HIV/AIDS surveys in Malawi,and in most cases from our individual interviews people said that they don't use condoms because 'it's like eating a sweet with it's paper wrap'.Some of the villagers use condoms but not always,sometimes 2 to 3 times a year.

Talking abt VCT in Malawi,believe me it beeing talked abt everywhere on radios,at the hospitals,during village meetings,thru drama and thru peer educators from different NGO's.The problem again,is that people r afraid 2 know their status 4 somany reasons one of being that of stigmatization.And 4 real, stigmatazation is there in Malawi towards those that hav got AIDS in Malawi especially in the rural areas.

Theres a drug that has been recently introduced 2 HIV/AIDS pregnant mothers in Malawi called Niverapine, which prevents mothers from passing the virus to their unborn babies.Still some mothers forget 2 take it becoz it's meant 2 b taken on the day of delivery and it only last for 72hrs!! A programme has bn implemented 2 help HIV/AIDS mothers to stop breastfeeding thier babies,and r instead given supplementary foods such as infant powdered milk-lactogen etc..

Enough of this, ma point is issues on HIV/AIDS are being discussed in Malawi,it's only that we still hav keep on teaching our fellow Malawians the reality of it.For example in some parts of Malawi like Nsanje,they don't believe that Aids is real if they see a person with AIDS symptoms they call it Tsempho-ndiye kuti munthu wasemphedwa!! I know it will take time 2 fully educate Malawians(especially from the rural areas) about the reality of AIDS, I pray that we'll finally get there!!

Mbili_Ku_Njanji · Member

Guys we have a problem in not just Malawi but all undeveloped countries. Why does AIDS hit hard in places that are poor? It has to do with money! Well some of you are saying, how about America? How come they say Aids hits hard in the projects and not in rich neighborhood. Food for thought!

AIDS/HIV is being taught but it fall on deef ears, the teachings are going against people's beliefs and customs. Well first it is hard for a rural person to adopt change, if they can at all. Chokolo/Kuhala has to be abolished period, by local chiefs in Malawi. But what do you know, local chiefs themselves want to have four or more wives eventhough they can't satisfy one. Men in rural areas feel like it is a sign of importance/prestige, and they have to do for their deceased brothers, uncles etc.. Women feel like they need a man in their lives to take care of them, there is no independece in them. Also it is a social status, if one is not married one is looked down upon by the whole village. All that need to be stopped!

That aside, here comes another problem. I watched a docomentary about AIDS in Africa... One older woman's daughter had AIDS and was dying anytime... She was asked in an interview if she uses gloves to take care of her...She said, "No why should I use gloves to touch my child...she is my child and I will touch her without gloves and I shall take care of her till she dies". Guess what, she was also taking care of her innocent grandchildren that later got infected too. Year later they all died. That is fighting peoples belives.

Now some people are just stupid. They will tell you plainly that AIDS inabwelela anthu. They become very careless and when they get it, reality hits them that they are going to die, that's when they become afraid of it. Too late!

Multiparty is one of the causes that AIDS accelerated. When we got that freedom a lot of people had a mentality of I can do whatever I want to do coz it's multiparty. Prostitution accelerated too. Do you guys know Hanover Street in Blantyre??? People lost fear they had and just became wild, people felt liberated.

logo · Newbie

UMPHAWI WA CHULUKA KU MALAWI!! Poverty is one of the major factors that is distracting people from knowing abt AIDS.Most of the girls that r into prostitution don't care abt AIDS ......they just want 2 live better.You know, it's sad how prostitutes scramble for night take-aways in the streets,and don't think they don't know abt AIDS....they do. At the end of the day,u'll feel sorry for them coz most of them aint got any choice they need the money.

Am on the same opinion wiv Kunjanji on cultural beliefs playing a role in spreading the virus,these beliefs(chokolo,kuchotsa fumbi e.t.c) r part them and to take that away from them aint easy.

mamacita · Member

While I do agree that poverty does play a role in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Malawi, I do not think that it is the sole reason for Mw's high numbers. That would be saying kuti "mphawi doesn't mind dying early". Shouldn't the prostitute be told of ways to protect herself? And what of the one who indulges by requiring oneself to sleep with the prostitute? In most cases, it is a man who is having issues ndi mayi kunyumba -- there certainly is a better way of dealing with his marital problems!

And then, while people will repeat AIDS information, they certainly have not been told what to do with it. And in most cases, it has been given to them with such an attitude that they retain the information, but reject the essence of the message. For example, PSI brought in the Chishango Condom campaign forgetting that culture believed that one-man, one-woman, sex is between husband and wife. And so you found mostly teenage boys at PSI campaigns who were instead retaining the information that if you want to go have sex (which every hormonal teenager does), grab yourself some condoms. Instead of the intended purpose, the campaign looked like it was advocating promiscuity among malawian people.

We have to take all this in consideration when we talk to people about AIDS. All in all though, I still don't think that the Malawian government is doing enough to make people aware of the problem. There still is predominantly, a nonchalant attitude towards HIV/AIDS in Malawi, which is VERY DANGEROUS!