| Business |
The next round of the battle
THE National has been in
the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than a
decade. That is as it should be, for the disease poses one of
the worst health threats yet experienced by our people.
Malaria and tuberculosis have held Papua New Guinea to ransom
and these diseases are presently experiencing a resurgence.
But there are significant differences in the impact of HIV/AIDS.
Neither tuberculosis nor malaria need be fatal. That’s a fact
that can be attested to by tens of thousands of Papua New
Guineans who continue to survive debilitating attacks by one or
both of these diseases.
Not so HIV/AIDS.
Even cancer and heart disease, two further health threats to PNG
with a grip that tightens each year, can increasingly be
survived.
To date, no such comforting scenario applies to HIV/AIDS
sufferers.
During the past decade, we have marked the progress of AIDS
awareness in PNG.
As a people, we have moved from the point of scarcely daring to
whisper the acronym, to a widespread acceptance that HIV/AIDS
has become, at least for the time being, a feature of our
spiritual, social, political and economic landscape.
During that journey it’s become apparent that awareness is the
easier goal to target.
Tens of millions of kina have been pumped into huge campaigns to
make HIV/AIDS as commonplace an aspect of our society as eating
or sleeping.
Committees to familiarise our people with at least the basic
features of this illness have burgeoned throughout PNG.
The National AIDS Council is making people aware of the pandemic
and hopefully showing them how to avoid contracting the illness.
The PNG media has been inundated with catchy phrases, songs,
regular columns, interviews, TV and radio documentaries and many
other forms of message.
Best of all, the 11-year long battle to obtain access to
anti-retroviral drugs for ordinary Papua New Guineans has
finally reached fruition. An undertaking from the Clinton
Foundation and a suddenly galvanised awareness on the part of
the PNG Government resulted in that long overdue situation being
achieved.
Now the content of awareness campaigns has been extended to
include lists of facilities from which medication and
counselling may be obtained.
Each province is represented and we commend this initiative
while noting that most of these facilities are concentrated in
the urban areas. We are aware of the miraculous effect these ARV
drugs can have; for while they do not cure this disease, they
can prolong life and the quality of life for a number of years
in most who take them.
In recent months, we’ve been aware of a Papua New Guinean who
initially stood poised on the very edge of eternity.
Today no such daunting prospect threatens him in the short term,
while his potential for an extended and satisfying life grows
daily.
Access to anti-retroviral drugs had become a reality.
Yet major challenges remain.
Many HIV/AIDS victims continue their lives and their risky
sexual behaviour unaware of their status. In the process they
infect many of those with whom they have sex.
The current thrust to encourage the whole community to undertake
voluntary HIV/AIDS testing is therefore vital. Slow progress is
being made but there are signs that the pace is quickening. The
major remaining challenge is to recognise the desperate needs of
those already identified as HIV-positive.
We need dedicated hospital wards, accelerated doctor and nurse
training and an awareness that the terminal stages of AIDS are
hugely challenging for both the victim and those who try to
help.
The growing band of deserted and often HIV-infected children and
teenagers on our urban streets must be given at least shelter
and food and medical treatment and some hope for the future. We
still have to win the fight against stigma and it’s wrong to
suppose that it’s a purely rural fight.
Many families in our towns include isolated individuals trying
to live with a secret they dare not share for fear of savage
ostracism and the prospect of a lonely death.
And so we congratulate those who have worked hard to spread
awareness of HIV/ AIDS, while pleading for a far better deal for
those who are so infected.
 
|
