Mid to late 90s Zimbabwe was at its peak of HIV infection with a quarter of the adult population recorded to be infected. Knowledge was very minimal and the people were caught unaware by the dreaded virus, the main cause then being heterosexual intercourse. In the late 90s to early 2000s a very large naïve but HIV infected new generation was born. Not their fault of course but just unlucky, now they have to live with the consequences of others’ actions for the rest of their lives. Since then there have been major strides in preventing mother to child transmission with a vision to eliminate it by 2021 which is applaudable but then year after year infant related new HIV infections are recorded although on a significant decrease.
These are the recent statistics of the distribution of HIV in Zimbabwe. My focus will mainly be on the significant number of children and adolescents infected by HIV and this a fight against stigma directed towards this fragile group. Adolescence is a very crucial stage in development. It is the stage in which the individuals will be trying to find their feet in the world, get to be self-conscious of oneself to be able to propel one’s life in the desired direction. It is the stage at which one gets it right or gets completely lost and gaining confidence and social support are some of the things expected of the adolescent as he/she is weaned into adulthood.
The HIV positive youth is very vulnerable at this stage. The stigma around being HIV positive in society is something unbearable to this naïve adolescent. HIV is still something demonized to the extent that if the agemates find out about the child’s status they can virtually stop sharing material with the infected, they will stop associating with him/her at virtually all levels and its something unbearable to the infected but naïve youth. Taking particular cognizance to those born infected, imagine the tormenting thoughts everywhere they go. Most of them are reported to stop going to school, some even confess to having suicidal thoughts multiple times and most of them find problems expressing themselves but remain encapsulated in this shell so difficult to break free of. Each and everyday the fear of being exposed haunts them and it is very difficult for them to navigate their way up the rungs of society. All this points towards a perennial poor mental state and this is the boundary we ought to work to break into and even out the odds for this unfortunate social group at this volatile stage of their life.
The problems faced by the HIV infected youth are way so overwhelming. It is the 21st century, people claim to be educated but then the infection is still demonized at most levels of society. They think they will get infected as well by handshakes, sharing a cup or playing in the same football team as an infected person. The church is supposed to be a pillar of strength to this fragile group but more often than not the men of the cloth associate HIV with promiscuity and immoral sexual activities in their preachings. Imagine those born with the virus, imagine those infected via blood transfusion or even those who got it via sexual transmission do not deserve to be marginalized but they need all the support they can get. After all HIV is just another infection, with proper medication one can live a very normal life so what is special about it.
The efforts of Africaid through its Zvandiri programme is a brilliant initiative in giving support to the HIV infected adolescent between 6 and 24 years and so is the contribution of UNICEF through its Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters (CATS). Indeed, these infected people need all the support they can get from all angles possible to make sure they make the most out of their lives. Recently the IMUNZI Project with its Comprehensive Sexuality Program was launched. These are tools to help the subject group to counteract the stigma around them but why not fight to do away with that stigma before they are even exposed to it?
I believe it is high time we all step up and fight HIV related stigma right at the grassroots. Recently sexual education has been introduced at ECD level, which is a good initiative and l believe we can do much more to neutralize the stigma right from this stage. These young innocent fellows have to be made aware of this disease at this early stage and taught to embrace the infected. They ought to be taught that mere interaction with them will not get them infected as well. It is funny to think of how malleable the brains of children are at these early stages and they can be made to believe whatever the elder ones deem necessary, look at Hitler and the Nazi regime and how they manipulated the education system into making the children believe in him. It is just that in this instance we will be using this phenomenon to the benefit of everyone. This may seem like a very long-term initiative but believe you me it is worth it. If successful we would then have managed to create an HIV stigma free generation. The HIV infected individuals will then be able to freely express themselves and their mental health would be sound.
This initiative will not only be able to eliminate HIV related stigma but will also go a very long way in reducing the number of new infections every year as there will be much more awareness on the issues to do with HIV. Its has been quite a long time now since HIV started tormenting the nation. The societal point of view has not been any kind to the infected individuals and they have been marginalized for way too long. It is high time we make a collective approach to fight it off together with the stigma that comes with it. Yes, Nelson Mandela was correct…indeed education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.
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