In America tomorrow June the 5th they'll mark 30 yrs since the first case of HIV virus was recorded. To my relocation I started hearing about this disease or be aware of AIDS while I was in Tanzania in early 90's but from that it has taken the county in surprise.I do remember because in those day didn't know much about the disease so anyone that was said to be dead from AIDS was sealed from the hospital and no funeral gathering was allowed and at that time most of the people who died from the disease were those who were studying or working out of the county.
Around 1993/94 that was when people who died from AIDS started to get proper burial. It is amazing how this disease has changed many people's lives. Many people have lost so many loved ones, friends and co workers. It is so many years past now but it is surprising that in Tanzania this disease is still such a stigma and no one wants to talk about.
If anyone says he/she doesn't know anyone with this disease or have been died from this disease is either lying or uniformed. Still many people hide about their status if they happen to know that they have contracted HIV virus even to their very closed relatives until today. Doctors still don't tell the truth to their patients that they have infected by the virus.
It is just so sad that as many years as we can count but if we ask ourselves how much awareness we have about this disease in Tanzania is very little. It's 30 years and we have lost so many people but if we look how much education is provided to the communities about this disease is very little too. People are not educated enough to be able to talk about this disease in public. The ones who live with this virus are not educated enough to openly admit having contract the virus and bring awareness to others.
The stigma of the fact that one symptoms of aids is loosing weight still overtaking the minds of so many educated and uneducated people in Tanzania thus lead to another disaster of having so many people die from controllable diseases such as high blood pressures, diabetes and heart attacks. Many people instead of going to the doctor to check their status what they do is to use food as the method of testing themselves for the virus. People are eager to be overweight just to prove to themselves and others that they are okay.
In America it said to have about 1 million people live with HIV infection and 20% of those unintentional do not know. In Tanzania I don't even know if they have the right number for this as many people intention don't want to check their status. It is just sad until today though there are no known cure for this disease but nowadays contracting the virus is not a death sentence anymore and the sooner you know the higher the chances the medication will work better but still people don't go to the hospital to be checked..
Lets remind ourselves again how the virus can be transmitted:
- Through sexual contact - including oral, vaginal, and anal sex
- Through blood - and via blood transfusions
- Through Needle - needle sharing
- From mother to child - a pregnant woman can transmit the virus to her fetus through their shared blood circulation, or a nursing mother can transmit it to her baby in her breast milk.
- Artificial insemination - Though infected donated semen.
- Organ transplantation - Through infected organs.
HIV infection is NOT transmitted by:
- Casual contact such as hugging
- Mosquitoes
- Participation in sports
- Touching items previously touched by a person infected with the virus
We need to help one another to raise awareness about this disease and try to remove the AIDS stigma that is still a big problem in Tanzania. We don't have to wait for people to come in our country and help us to spread the word. Then we didn't know anything about this disease but now we know. It is our obligation to talk more about this disease because the epidemic is far from over and women are the most vulnerable group.
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