WHILE it is a universally accepted norm that a healthy nation is a wealthy one, the scourge of HIV/AIDS on the contrary has impacted negatively on many economies around the globe.
Zambia, like many other countries, has taken steps in incorporating the issue of HIV/AIDS in the development agenda owing to the fact that a healthy and productive citizenry is critical to economic growth.
It is for this reason that the launch of the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP 2017-2021) by President Edgar Lungu in Lusaka recently, presented an opportunity for the Zambians to fight the rate of new HIV infections with renewed stamina for the next five years.
The plan which seeks to pursue an integrated development approach under the theme, ‘Accelerating development efforts towards the Vision 2030 without leaving anyone behind,’ has touched on many sectors of the economy but my area of focus is HIV/AIDS.
“In the quest to reach a target of zero HIV transmission rate, the management of HIV/AIDS programming requires a strengthened holistic multi-sectoral approach for the nation to avert the scourge in a well-coordinated and sustainable manner,” reads the 7NDP.
The plan places emphasis on averting and reducing the rate of new infections through promotion of programmes targeting prevention, mitigation, treatment, care and support, such as prevention of mother-to-child transmission in family setups and integration of prevention strategies at all levels of health care services, to reduce the disease burden.
Concerted efforts among stakeholders such as Government, civil society, national and regional governments, political institutions, international organisations, academia, faith-based organisations and the private sector are critical realising the benchmarks set in the 7NDP.
Equally, society at large has a role to play to meet the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages through promotion of healthy behaviours and lifestyles.
The document also looks at some critical successes Zambia has scored in her efforts to abate the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the last few years.
Of great importance, is the fact that the country has been able to stabilise the epidemic with HIV prevalence decreasing from 13 per cent in 2015 to 11.6 percent in 2016 and that the rate of new HIV infection between 2009 and 2016 dropped by more than 41 per cent.
Zambia currently has an estimated number of 1.2 million people living with HIV and approximately 800,000 of those are on life-saving Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
However, about 46, 000 new infections are recorded every year, hence the Government is calling for continued domestic investment and leadership to reduce the new HIV infection and eventually achieve zero new infections.
“The Government’s strategy in the Plan period will be to reduce the national HIV prevalence which stood at 11.6 per cent in 2016. During the Plan period, the Government will build on efforts to reduce the disease burden, the national HIV prevalence rate and the relatively high HIV prevalence for pregnant women,” the document further reads.
“Zambia is committed to the 2016 High Level Meeting Political Declaration that reaffirms member states’ commitment to ending AIDS by 2030 in solidarity with the global community and ensuring country ownership, leadership and accountability,” it adds.
This political declaration aims at achieving the 90-90-90 treatment targets by 2020 which refer to 90 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90 per cent of people tested positive for HIV getting access to treatment services and 90 per cent of people on antiretroviral treatment achieving HIV viral load suppression.
Government has therefore, emphasised enhanced partnerships with stakeholders as critical to achieving the 2020 targets and pledges to ensure the social determinants of the disease burden are examined holistically.
With all these benchmarks in perspective, it is worth mentioning that the Arthur Davison Children’s hospital (ADCH) in Ndola, which is at the forefront of family, and adolescent-centred care and support for those living with HIV, if adequately equipped, will contribute significantly to the set targets.
At present, ADCH is the only paediatric hospital in the country and serves as a regional referral base for complex cases across the medical spectrum.
The hospital offer early infant diagnosis of HIV for the whole of the Northern region of Zambia, covering the Copperbelt, Luapula, Northern, Muchinga, and the northern parts of Central provinces.
Its (ADCH) laboratory is able to perform most HIV related diagnostic tests including the DNA/PCR viral load and will also be able to perform viral load resistance patterns as the hospital has now began offering third line treatment as the only centre offering this service apart from Lusaka.
There is also need to address the poor linkages between the traditional health providers and the public health institutions which makes it harder for people to dispel myths about HIV and ART treatment.
It has become a trend nowadays to find people circulating fliers claiming to heal HIV with herbal remedies while some people living with HIV shun ART treatment in preference for divine intervention.
More sensitisation is required to reverse such negative trends.
All in all, accelerating prevention of mother-to-child transmission and paediatric care and treatment, preventing infection among young adolescents and young people, as well as protecting and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on orphan and vulnerable children, will be key in attaining desired results.
For comments, email moseschimfwembe@gmal.com or visit moseschimfwembe.wixsite.com/mysite