THE EDITOR, Madam:
THIS AN Open Letter to the Minister of Health
HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens the human existence of many countries around the world. For example, there are officially over three million people in South Africa between 1999 and 2000 that were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. This figure represents an inaccurate count of the total number of infected people, as in many rural villages and townships people are afraid to report cases of infection. This epidemic is not confined to South Africa only, but to the entire Southern Africa region with Zimbabwe worst affected.
Similarly, Jamaica is not immune from the devastating effects of the disease. It is on that basis, Mr. Minister, that HIV/AIDS must be treated as a priority issue by your Ministry before it is too late. As you are already aware, the disease impacts disproportionately on the poor, both in terms of higher infection rates and the effects of infection on the household and community economies.
Given the immeasurable social and economic costs that HIV/AIDS poses to the Jamaican society, I implore you and the practitioners in the Health Ministry to have a fresh look at the HIV/AIDS management and prevention strategies. If the disease is allowed to go unmanaged, then Jamaica could be the next Botswana or Zimbabwe, and all the development and economic gains would have been eroded. It is imperative that the current tone of denial gives way to concrete and sustainable prevention strategies.
I would like to suggest the following approaches that can be integrated with the present approach.
1. Develop an effective mapping of groups and areas that are high-risk and target them with HIV/AIDS prevention and control programmes.
2. Improve workplace programmes Private and Public Sector employers must play a key role in controlling the spread of the disease. Thus programmes must be developed at work places to inform workers on the impact of the disease through peer group education.
3. The Ministry must embark on a campaign to reduce STDs, which will reduce the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
4. The Ministry must provide antiretroviral drugs to pregnant mothers and rape victims who are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.
5. Focus, on awareness and educational programmes, rather than piecemeal interventions.
The costs of effectively managing HIV/AIDS are enormous, but if you were to travel to some of the villages in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape you would get a full understanding of what lies ahead if we do not act quickly and in a decisive manner to control and manage effectively the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The time has come for the political leaders to demonstrate a commitment at levels to ensure that Jamaica is not affected in the manner that the Southern African countries have been. It has been proven that in countries where there is a lack of political will to control the epidemic the results are embarrassing, to the point where Ministers of Governments have died from AIDS.
I am etc.,
PAUL THOMPSON
E-mail: cobptt@upe.ac.za
Development Studies Student
University of Port Elizabeth
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Via Go-Jamaica
