[First published on www.politicosl.com] Despite the existence of a law prohibiting stigmatisation and discrimination of people living with HIV, the practice is at an alarming rate, anti-HIV/AIDS campaigners have warned.
Stigmatization is prevalent at all levels of society and it is driving people who should seek life-saving help, like HIV/AIDS sufferers, to go into hiding, posing further threats to society, officials of the National AIDS Secretariat (NAS) and UNAIDS, said.
Dr. Momodu Sesay, Executive Director of NAS, said evidence abound that there was stigmatisation at all levels, including health facilities, and places of worship.
“We are not only looking at stigma against HIV/AIDS people, but we are also looking at stigma against people who survived Ebola…,” he said in a statement marking the 2016 Zero Discrimination Day. The global event, celebrated on March 1, was set aside to raise awareness against stigma and discrimination in all forms.
The UNAIDS country office and NAS collaborated to host a press conference on the commemoration, where officials severely lamented the increasing trend of stigmatization in the country.
It takes the trend of exclusion from social gathering, places of work, places of worship, family activities, and it is expressed differently, said Dr Sesay.
He said common implications of this were that people go underground; they have suicidal tendencies, or they resort to tendencies of willful transmission, as retribution.
“And all of this affect treatment and increases morbidity, said Dr Sesay.
While the Zero Discrimination Day covers all forms of discrimination, a major concern is on people living with HIV.
The Stigma Index study of 2014 conducted by NAS and partners showed that 71% of people complained been stigmatized through gossiping, and 16% complained of verbal insult; Sex workers were mostly found to be faced with physical harassment.
“It is unacceptable to discriminate against people, be they people living with HIV/AIDS, be they sex workers, be they disabled; it’s bad to discriminate against them,” said Dr Sesay.
“Everyone, irrespective of where they come from, should be given space to live their lives,” added UNAIDS Country Director, Dr Michael Boum.
He said only 52% of people living with HIV in the country were coming out to access seek treatment and other services. And only one third of the over 4, 000 children among these were accessing the services, he said.
The UNAIDS chief said having these people fully access treatment was crucial to ending HIV transmission, which also hinged on Zero discrimination, which could only be attained if everyone worked together.
Mr Foday Sawi Lahai, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, re-echoed the views of the UNAIDS and NAS bosses, stressing that stigma and discrimination were great barriers to ending HIV transmission.
He said in a statement: “Healthcare settings, communities and work place should be considered as safe and caring environments, however, such cases are happening to frequently in the country.”
He added: “Any obstacles that inhibit access to healthcare facilities, including to testing, treatment and care services, destroy self-esteem and must be removed.”
According to NAS, at least 55, 000 people are living with the HIV virus in Sierra Leone. And these people are represented by an umbrella organization called the Network of HIV Positives (NETHIPS).
Their head, Idrissa Songo, said the only way to address the issue of discrimination and stigmatisation was with the full implementation of the law prohibiting them.
The HIV/AIDS Act 2011 deals with discriminatory acts and policies. Amongst others, it forbids denial of a person to the right to employment, education, or entry into the country on the basis of their HIV status.
Songo said the law hadn’t really been fully implemented, and he noted that all the odds of society were against people living with HIV.
When an issue got to court it had financial implications, he told Politico in an interview. He said when a complainant had no money to hire lawyers, they had problem.
“From our end, the point of view of NETHIPS, we really want to see that whosoever stigmatizes us faces the full force of the law,” he said.
He said he wanted to see fines and imprisonment for offenders.
There has been some level of improvement though. About a decade ago, it was unheard of for people to shake hands of people living with HIV. This has changed. And campaigners believe a little more awareness raising will help end stigma as it is known today.
(C) Politico 10/03/16
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