Living with HIV in Lusaka, Zambia | Joachim Cuthbert Mumba
Written on June 29, 2011 by Jade Haigh
My mother is living with HIV, though her life may not be described as being worse than other’s, especially those living in peri-urban and rural areas. She is much better off in the sense that she has family members in gainful employment who are able to support her.
The general picture for HIV-positive people in Zambia is not very good, and is worse if they are looking after HIV-positive children or orphans. The majority of HIV-positive people, especially those who are unemployed, have little disposable household income. This means they often have a poor diet and have difficulties affording decent housing, as well as providing for their children’s education. Orphaned and HIV-positive children, particularly girls, being looked after by grandparents are the most vulnerable as they often don’t have adequate meals. In rural areas, stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and Aids is rampant due to lack of awareness, compounded by deep rooted myths and beliefs.
The biggest challenge for people living with HIV in Zambia is their lack of access to good nutrition. The majority of Zambians, especially in rural and high-density areas, experience shortages of food, which impacts negatively on their health, as the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs they take require that they have access to good nutrition. Other challenges include the long distances they face getting to antiretroviral therapy centres, and shortages of ARV drugs.
In addition, many people have complained of ill-treatment by health service providers. In general, accessing treatment is a lot easier for city-dwellers than for those living in rural areas.
The government has provided strong leadership on HIV and has recognised that they cannot succeed alone. They have involved faith-based organisations, civil society and NGOs, as well as entered into partnerships with the private sector to administer some of the treatments. Zambia has so far had considerable success in scaling-up free provision of treatment, though more still needs to be done to make ARV therapy accessible to all those in need. The scale-up of free ARV treatment faces serious challenges due to shortages of health workers and insufficient funding, and raises the question of whether the response to HIV is sustainable because HIV funding in Zambia is mostly provided by donors. Despite a decline in the HIV prevalence rate, Zambia has still a long way to go before all people living with HIV have treatment and the spread of HIV is brought under control.
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