Let us fight hiv/aids now!

14-year-old Philemon from Tanzania is orphan and infected with aids. He receives help from MS-partner WAMATA. Photo: Tina Løvbom Petersen.

THE STATISTICS speak for themselves. 40 million people in the world live with hiv and aids. Every single day, 14,000 are added to this list. Nearly half are women. Since the beginning of the 1980s, more than 20 million have died from aids. In 2003, the disease claimed 3 million lives, and some 5 million children and adults were infected.

Aids turns children into orphans; it weakens the breadwinners; it spreads desperation and misery. Apart from the devastating human consequences, aids makes societies weak and vulnerable, as people die earlier and social structures fall apart.

The infected must be integrated

The disease is an immense challenge for development work, and is closely connected with poverty. Poverty, underdevelopment, and illiteracy are some of the reasons why hiv/aids is spreading. To make matters worse, the disease impoverishes people even further.

MS believes that the fight against hiv/aids must be based on openness and tolerance. We would like to take part in creating an environment, where trust and respect can pave the way for integrating those infected into their families, work places, and society in general.

MS places the greatest emphasis on preventive measures that, however, should always be linked up with treatment. If being hiv positive leads to marginalization and discrimination, people will not let themselves be tested.

Zimbabwe: MS is stepping up its efforts against aids

The bulk of MS’ programs are to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, which is the part of the world hardest hit by the aids disaster. In Zimbabwe, the infection rate for adults is 24,6 percent. In 2003, over 2 million Zimbabweans had been infected with hiv. Nearly 1 million children have lost one or both parents.

For several years MS-Zimbabwe has, through partnerships with local organizations, given high priority to the fight against aids. Six partners work directly with hiv/aids through education, care of the sick, helping vulnerable women’s groups, and health and nutrition.

In 2004 we stepped up our efforts at all levels. The theme of our annual meeting was ’Let us fight hiv/aids now’, and the partners joined in discussing the challenges, which the disease poses for Zimbabwe.

The possibility of leading a positive life with aids was among the topics discussed. Furthermore, MS Zimbabwe helped incorporate hiv/aids into the partners’ work by, among other things, making a guide and supporting an activist group that works with education.

Mozambique: Fighting silence and taboos

Nivenyee is an MS partner in Nampula in the northern part of Mozambique. Most members of the organization are hiv positive. Their work covers counseling, advocacy, and educational projects in the sub-urban areas. Their work is often done in the form of Forum Theater.

More than half the population is illiterate, and hence theater is often the most effective way of conveying information. In a small town like Nampula, it takes courage to admit that you are infected. People risk loosing their jobs. Nivenyee wishes to change this through openness and by setting an example.

Nivenyee works together with the authorities on the subject of treatment of aids victims. One of the big problems in Mozambique is that there are not sufficient

treatment alternatives. In Mozambique, 1,3 million are infected; in 2004, the Health Authorities were only able to offer life-prolonging treatment with anti-retroviral medicine to 8,000 people.

Nivenyee is planning to collect signatures for a protest petition with the purpose of pressuring the authorities into having more infected people treated.

MS aids advisor Kirsten Madsen makes Africans and Central Americans deal actively with the epidemic.

Tanzania: Aids in the condoms?

Imagine yourself at a meeting in Tanzania. A smiling, young man asks you in front of everyone whether it is true that white people put hiv in the condoms, in order to take over the land from the Africans.

This is what MS’ aids advisor Kirsten Madsen experienced in 2004. Later, she was asked the same question in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. This illustrates the existing divide between Danish and African reality. The message won’t reach the target group if we don’t understand how to listen and see aids in a broader context in which poverty plays a significant role.

In Denmark, we can get all the treatment we want, but in Africa, families can often only afford to have one family member treated. This means treating the one who has a job. It has therefore been received with great satisfaction that MS has decided to offer treatment to all its hiv-infected employees, their spouses, and up to 4 children.

However, experience has shown that even with the offer of free medicine, the fear of being marginalized and discriminated against is often so great, that many people would rather not be treated than risk having others find out that they are infected.

This is why it is important to foster an open environment where difficult issues can be discussed without fear.

Central America: Finally talking sex

The official hiv numbers in Central America are relatively low, but it is generally agreed that they are extremely distorted. In 2004, MS took many initiatives to reach young people.

Central America happens to have many of the characteristics observed in countries with many infected: A large number of people work and live far away from their families; women have hardly any right to self-determination, also when it comes to their sex life; homosexuality is not accepted; prostitution is widespread.

”When we finish school, we know as much about sex as about Chinese characters,” complained 24-year old Luis from Guatemala to MS’ aids advisor Kirsten Madsen.

Some of the youngsters that Kirsten Madsen met in the northern part of El Salvador were 18-year old Jaime from the Salvadorian exchange program organization ADES, and 22-year old Wendy from ASONOG in Honduras.

”When we distribute condoms, people look at us as if we were monsters. In the beginning it was really bad. Now it has become a bit better,” said Jaime. Both he and Wendy have witnessed that when they start demonstrating how to use a condom, people opt out. One onlooker found that it was too heavy stuff for minors.

”Of course 12-year olds are kids, but not rarely do they have a sex life. This is why they need to know how to protect themselves against hiv,” said Wendy.

Denmark: Volunteers educate on hiv

In 2004, activists in Denmark continued to implement the MS aids policy. The group has made a small book, which gives good ideas as to how MS and its partners can work to fight the disease in practice.

MS aids advisors in many of the countries, where MS undertakes projects, have later followed up on the book. The activists have also worked in order to improve conditions for the infected employees and their spouses.

Finally, the members of the group have represented MS in AidsNet, a Danish NGO network that deals with aids and development.