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KZN still struggling to curb spread of HIV/AIDS
By Angela Bolowana. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (pty) Ltd
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KwaZulu-Natal remains the epicentre of the HIV and AIDS epidemic despite efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Statistics released by the health department show that 40,7 percent of the population is infected with the virus. Ten years ago the figure stood at 14,4 percent. The director of the AIDS Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Chris Mokolatsie, said it was troubling that the percentage of infected people had risen from 33,5 percent in 2001 to 36,5 percent in 2002 and 37,5 percent in 2003.
The same trend was unfolding worldwide, he said.
Quoting from a report by the United Nations, Mokolatsie said five million new infections had been reported during 2003, three million of which had been in sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the solutions to the crisis was to spread the message in the people's vernacular.
"We don't have the literary tools to discuss HIV matters in the vernacular," he said.
"We tend to translate. As we do that certain things don't come out right and the communication does not achieve its objectives."
It was necessary, he said, to include HIV and AIDS in the curriculum at university level so that graduates gained an understanding of it.
Mokolatsie was addressing a Cultural Day function hosted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal by the isiZulu department.
Some of the issues discussed were HIV/AIDS and culture, HIV and AIDS and virginity testing, HIV and AIDS and religion, and that it was important that HIV and AIDS messages be directed at males because they often held the power in relationships.
The head of isiZulu studies, Nobuhle Ndimande, said the theme for the discussion had been "HIV and Aids and Culture: Facing the Challenge", because culture could be used to curb the epidemic.
She said it was time that cultural practices, such as virginity testing and Umemulo (the coming of age celebrations), were used to spread the message of prevention.
Nomagugu Ngobese, known for her controversial stance on virginity testing, said such testing was a cultural practice which could be used to spread the message of abstinence.
"We are empowering them to say: 'No.' It's not exploiting, it's empowering," she said.
?• This article was originally published on page 4 of The Mercury on September 15, 2005 |
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