Despite the optimism communicated, by the Health and Child Welfare Ministry’s Seretse Maphosa, I am having a difficult time believing that the Zimbabwean public is that ready and willing to go for HIV testing. Our aversion to testing goes beyond a lack of adequate and nearby testing facilities. The truth is many, if not most people, would rather not know their HIV status. Testing positive changes one’s life, and most Zimbabweans are not ready or adequately equipped for dealing with these changes.

I am curious to know what the Ministry’s plan is, beyond getting half a million Zimbabweans to get tested in 10-days. I would also like to know what other support systems they have for those who test positive, beyond the once-off, pre and post-testing counseling services we’ve all come to know and associate with HIV testing. Will they assist with treatment and medication those who test positive will consequently require? What are they doing concurrently with the testing campaign to combat stigma, which I believe to be the deadliest aspect HIV?

This entry was posted on November 14th, 2011 at 1:51 pm by Varaidzo Tagwireyi and is filed under Reflections, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.