Times Of Swaziland: New infections

New infections
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The editor on 27/08/2013 02:09:00


The people of this country are still getting infected with HIV every single day,
despite all the measures that have been taken by the various organisations aimed
at reducing the scourge.
There are 40 new infections on average, every day and the occurrence is across
all age groups. If we are still experiencing these new infections does this mean
the interventions that have taken place over the last 20 years have been in
vain? We are consistently bombarded with messages of HIV prevention but it would
appear those messages are falling on deaf ears.
The ABC interventions (Abstain, Be faithful or Condomise) are all we need to
ensure the virus is not spread further and we have been bombarded with this
message over and over again, but still people are not listening.
Why is this the case? Granted, there are certain situations that are beyond
one’s control like the recent report of a woman who was infected with the
virus by her husband on purpose simply because he had paid lobola for her, and
this therefore gave him the right to do as he pleases with her.
It is clear that people are still playing Russian roulette with their lives.
However, it is difficult to fathom why anybody would be willing to risk getting
infected knowing what the consequences of such careless behaviour will be.
Not only does being HIV positive put a strain on the individual and the family
but it also adds a burden to government’s resources that are already stretched
thin. Antiretroviral therapy is quite costly and procuring these drugs cannot be
easy on the government.
People need to take a closer look at their behaviour and make the decision to
change. It is true that change starts from within and no amount of messages will
make a difference or have an impact if people are unwilling to change. We need
to start making a concerted and conscious effort now before the disease wipes
out our brothers and sisters.
Nkhaba voters decide
In an unprecedented move, a woman has come out victorious in the Nkhaba
Constituency; an area where the elections were previously dominated by men.
Shainah Maseko, 57, was one of 18 people nominated for the position of Member of
Parliament and she emerged the winner. It is certainly encouraging that there
are constituents who value what a woman is capable of bringing to the
constituency and have shown their faith in her through their vote. Should she
win the secondary elections she will have to make sure she does not disappoint
the people who have used their valuable vote to put her in Parliament.
Although the country has a long way to go in as far as gender equality is
concerned, this shows that we have come a long way in changing our mindsets from
considering the woman’s place to be at home to realising that women have a lot
to offer if given the chance.