The gains made so far in the fight against HIV/AIDS may all go to waste if people are not given correct information about the real position with regards to issues to do with HIV/AIDS is not given timeously.
People living with HIV need to know everything there is to know about the current position with regards to HIV/AIDS.
Being a person who has lived with HIV knowingly for over thrée decades I know how it feels to be HIV+. I also know how frustrating it is to go to one’s local clinic to collect one’s vital medications and being told that there is no medication. I know how frightening it is to default on your ARV and not knowing when you’ll get your next supply of the life giving drug.
Authorities and health personnel need to inform people living with HIV the exact situation on the ground so that we stay informed. Knowledge can also make one know the best way forward. Those of us who tested HIV+ in the late 80s and early 90s when there was no ART but loads and loads of information know how we coped.
Pandemics and epidemics have come and gone some never to return but the HIV/AIDS pandemic has stubbornly held on .The reasons why HIV/AIDS has held on are many and among them is lack of correct information at the right times. Knowledge is power so they say and there is need to empower people with knowledge all the time.
There has been a lot of misinformation and disinformation withholding of vital information since the onset of HIV/AIDs in the early to mid 80s up to the present time and this has caused lots of confusion and suffering among people living with HIV.
There is lots of misinformation, disinformation and withholding of vital information currently going on as a result of the USA government’s sudden withdrawal of HIV medication and related services which has gripped the HIV landscape and a lot of people living with HIV are in a state of panic making their lives so grim and hopeless .
The most vulnerable people are the ordinary rural and marginalized community members who do not know what exactly is going on .Most of these marginalized folks do not have any idea about what is going on. All they are waiting for is their next resupply of the life giving ARVs .They don’t even understand the impact of what the American President Mr Donald Trump’s pronouncements has on their lives.
This knowledge void is where Support Groups should come in .Support Groups within communities can go a long way in filling the knowledge gap amongst people living with HIV.
The USA government’s withdrawal of aid for HIV mitigation and related services within the HIV/AIDs landscape was so sudden and took everyone by surprise including the authorities leaving the whole HIV landscape in disarray and confusion.
People living with HIV need all the Information they can get about the current situation with regards to HIV issues. Information dissemination is very important at this moment because it will empower people living with HIV and make them cope with their situations from an informed point of view.
Currently lots of ordinary and marginalized People living with HIV are just hearing that nowadays ARVs are rather difficult to get, they don’t know the reasons behind the unavailability of their usually very easy to get drug. They also don’t know when the situation is going to improve if ever it is going to improve at all.
If nothing is done to inform people living with HIV quickly very soon we will be having many sudden deaths of people dying of stress related causes. The Holy Bible in Hosea says “My people are perishing because of lack of knowledge.
“This therefore, shows how important knowledge is. A lot needs to be done therefore to make us know what is going on.
National Aids Council and Ministry of Health personnel should be seen on the ground teaching people via support groups on the state of affairs regarding HIV/AIDS issues.
Piason Maringwa is a teacher at Batanai High School near Manoti in Gokwe South District.
He has been living with HIV for more than 30 years and has been talking about his HIV+ status since 2004.
