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NGO kritik af Zimbabwes HIV/Aids politik
Af Torben Estermann, Woza 5/2006
UNESCO har øget sit engagement i kampen mod HIV/Aids.
På en konference i Zimbabwe om HIV/Aids og uddannelse, kritiserede UNESCO direktøren Juma Shabani den måde hvor på Zimbabwes regering har planlagt sin HIV/Aids kampagne.
- Den har slet ikke nået sit mål og er alt for fragmenteret. Kampagnen er kendetegnet ved en mangel på koordination, overlapning af aktiviteter, samt anvendelse af oplysningsmateriale som ikke er relevant for målgruppen.
- Hvis HIV/Aids kampagner skal være optimale, er det nødvendigt at de indeholder redskaber og komponenter som kan udvikle en øget bevidsthed, viden, evner og holdninger, som samlet sigter på at reducere antallet af nye infektioner og de følgevirkninger HIV/Aids epidemien har på uddannelsessektoren.
HIV/Aids NGO’erne i Zimbabwe har også udtrykt deres store bekymring ved Zimbabwes Aids-politik. De har opfordret præsident Mugabe til at være mere synlig i kampen mod HIV/Aids.
En kilde til deres stigende bekymring er regeringens manglende engagement i World Aids Day. HIV/Aids NGO’erne beskylder regeringen for at latterliggøre og marginalisere denne dag, og undlade at skabe en national bevidsthed om den fortsatte kamp mod HIV/Aids i Zimbabwe.
AIDS-aktivister blev mødt med repressioner og arrestationer da de markerede World Aids Day ved at marchere gennem Harares gader.
Mugabe og Parlamentets formand valgte at tilbringe World Aids Day med at åbne African Bankers Forum, i stedet for at deltage i offentlige arrangementer om HIV/ Aids. AIDS aktivisterne ser dette som symptomatisk for Mugabe og regeringens mangel på politisk vilje og engagement.
Det er et faktum at hen ved to millioner Zimbabwer lever med HIV/Aids og at kun 20.000 har adgang til anti-retroviral medicin. Kriterierne for hvem der kan få HIV/Aids-behandling i det offentlige sundhedssystem er uklare, på trods af at regeringen hver måned opkræver et særligt HIV/Aids bidrag fra alle lønarbejderes månedsløn.
At regeringen samtidig, i dens reaktioner på HIV/Aids NGO’ernes kritik, antyder at de er ballademagere og vestligt støttede kritikere af regeringen, i lighed med andre menneskerettigheds-grupper i Zimbabwe, gør det ikke lettere at komme i dialog om Zimbabwes Aids-politik.
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Govt launches national HIV/Aids framework
The Herald, Zimbabwe
29 nov. 2007
GOVERNMENT has launched a national strategic framework for the private sector’s response to HIV and Aids, which seeks to synergise prevention, care and treatment interventions for the disease at the workplace.
Secretary for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Lancaster Museka, launched the framework on behalf of Minister Nicholas Goche in Harare yesterday.
In a speech read by Mr Museka, Cde Goche said the framework would enable the private sector to establish and support partnerships for intensified response to the pandemic.
"As you would quickly observe, the interventions in the above-mentioned sectors lacked the coherence and all stakeholder support needed in order to attend to the challenges in a holistic manner," Cde Goche said.
He said although there was legislation that protects people living with HIV and Aids at the workplace, the private sector was responding slowly to the epidemic.
"In the past few years, there has, nevertheless, been a realisation that it is prudent and imperative from a corporate management perspective to develop functional HIV and Aids policies and programmes," said Cde Goche.
He said top management in most organisations were reluctant to implement effective policies.
Cde Goche challenged the private sector to rigorously monitor and evaluate implementation of the document within set time frames.
Speaking at the same occasion, International Labour Organisation country representative Mr Tayo Fashoyin said the framework was necessitated by the fact that HIV responses at the workplace were not collaborative.
"Until recently, the private sector has not approached HIV and Aids with a shared vision or collaborative action. The lack of co-ordination has limited the effectiveness of existing initiatives," he said.
Mr Fashoyin said in order to achieve national commitments towards universal access to HIV and Aids prevention, care, support and treatment, there was need for a collaborative approach to all HIV programmes.
"It is our hope that the framework will provide common ground on which private sector organisations can establish and support partnerships that promote intensified response to HIV and Aids," he said.
The framework, which has a three-year lifespan, will also serve as a guide for employees and employers to design and implement their workplace policies.
HIV and Aids at the workplace results in increased absenteeism due to sickness, increased costs of health services and increased costs of recruitment and training of new personnel.
