HIV today is everybody’s responsibility: Officer

 By OGIA MIAMEL
MATERNAL health technical adviser Dr Lahui Geita says HIV must be everybody’s responsibility and should be implemented in emergency planning.
Lahui facilitated the training on minimum initial service package for reproductive and sexual health care during crisis in Port Moresby, yesterday.
He said sexual violence, gender-based violence, poverty, social instability and population movement were the risk factors in the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections during a crisis.
Lahui said during such situations,it was important to make condoms available and accessible to the sexually active population.
“Health workers must adhere to standard precautions when carrying out blood transfusion and delivering babies from HIV-positive mothers.
“Health workers must always ensure they prevent sexual violence and assist survivors during a crisis by putting a protection system in place for women and girls, provide medical services and psychological support for survivors and make community aware of the services,” Lahui said.
He said only two provinces had a disaster plan in place.
“Therefore it was important for the Government to address this so when a disaster and crisis struck, authorities would know what to do.”
According to the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PNG Operational Plan report, 2014, women and girls account for 62 per cent of all reported HIV infections.
Young women are at particularly high risk.
In 2010, nearly forty per cent of all reported HIV infections among young women were in the 15-24 year age range compared to 12 per cent among young men.
It has been widely concluded that the increased vulnerability of women and girls relates to structural factors and the economic, social, legal, political and cultural disadvantages women face.
Factors such as limited income and employment opportunities and high levels of labour migration have led to high rates of exchange of sex for cash and goods and services.
Furthermore, lack of access to basic STI services and HIV prevention methods such as male and female condoms.