Fighting HIV/AIDS in Zambia
Posted on November 28, 2007 - Filed Under AIDS, Africa |
20% of the entire Zambian population has AIDS, according to the 2006 Global Report on the Epidemic. The illness affects more women than men in sub-Sahara Africa. With half of the Zambian population under the age of 15, it has been estimated that there are 710,000 AIDS orphans in the nation. Faced with these dire statistics, in 2004 the government banned condom distribution in schools, claiming it was immoral.
Last year when Davidson College students entered a small fishing village Mwandi, the reported the following: “we were greeted by a large black and white sign, reading: ‘Welcome to Mwandi, we are concerned about AIDS.’ Below were listed the ABCs, “Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise,†and in red letters, “D – or you will die.â€
At lease condom use was referenced in the sign. In Zambia you will find no mention of it by the government. The Christian Council of Zambia was successful in removing condom advertisements in 2001 from the radio, claiming they encouraged promiscuity. The President of the nation stated that condoms were a sign of lax morals. He supported the clergy in removing the condom ads. The Minister of Education also agreed with this policy.
The incidence of AIDS in Zambia is staggering. According to the 2006 Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, nearly twenty percent of the Zambian population has AIDS. It is a disease strongly associated with dire poverty, affecting more women than men across sub-Sahara Africa. Nearly half of the population in Zambia is less than fifteen years old, and there are an estimated 710,000 AIDS orphans, evidence of the crippling effects AIDS can have on a poor nation.
Against this background the Youth Development Foundation (YDF) is trying to make a difference. One thing they have discovered is that if you are living in a rich nation or an impoverished one, bureaucracy exists. The Ministry of Education has refused to release any data on HIV rates in Zambia. All statistics come from outside sources.
iConflict contributor Henry Namwenda, let us know the following: “My organization has tried every possible thing, especially writing to the ministry of Education, asking them for accurate statistics, on HIV privelance rates in schools but no data or information has been availed to us. At times i wonder why, cause i was meant to believe that information, especially on HIV and AIDS was to be availed to any one interested.We have so far made appointments to meet the Permanent secretary of the two targeted ministries for our lobbying activity, i.e Health and Education on 30th November, and we hope to convince them to come and attend our event.”
The event that Henry mentions is a December 6th rally being organized to urge the government to adopt a more rational national policy on condom use to help curb HIV infection rates.
Rallies and movements like this happen all over the world, yet receive little to no attention from international media. When iConflict launches in 2008, images, video and news stories from important events like this will always be found on our homepage, with content provided by our users, because stories like this are too important to be ignored.
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