Africa-Press – Botswana. No lives should be lost to HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) due to the availability of drugs.
Botswana Network of People Living with HIV & AIDS (BONEPWA) representative said this at a community dialogue on human rights, elimination of stigma, discrimination and gender based violence (GBV) to improve access to HIV and TB services in Machana recently.
Mr Gasekgale Moalosi appealed to residents of Machana and surrounding villages to stop stigma and discrimination because such could discourage some people from seeking treatment.
“People living with HIV are being discriminated at home, in the community as well as at work, which eventually leads to some quitting their jobs,” he said.
He said it was important for people to fully understand HIV and TB, how they were spread, what to be done when infected or not infected.
“People with enough information would not have any reason to discriminate, they would rather support those infected and affected,” he added.
Mr Moalosi also said it was important for everyone to partake in the fight against stigma and discrimination while victims of discrimination also needed to report such acts.
He, therefore, urged residents to form support groups, which he said would be a platform to share ideas and support each other.
He said people living with HIV/AIDS and TB had rights just like the rest of the population, such as right to life and treatment, thus discrimination and stigma led to violation of their rights.
For his part, Kgosi Mogotsi Marotwane of Machana thanked BONEPWA for organising the community dialogue, noting that sometimes GBV perpetrators were not aware of the effects of their actions.
He said most of the social ills in the village resulted from alcohol and drug abuse, adding that GBV affected both men and women.
“Men usually do not report abuse for fear of being ridiculed, I therefore appeal to all men to report such acts,” he said.
Residents took turns to share their views and advice on the topic, with most of them saying it was important for HIV positive people to accept their status, adhere to treatment and live healthy lives.
Some believed that discrimination could be stopped from home by loving and supporting those infected as that would make it easy for them to take treatment.
They advised men to test for HIV and other illnesses and stop relying on their partners’ HIV status.
Others decried use of separate buildings for HIV positive people and those negative at health centres, adding that it also contributed to stigma and discrimination.
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