Zimbabwe showing no promise as World marks AIDS Day

By Tererai Karimakwenda
01 December 2005

Around the world, December 1st is designated as World AIDS Day, and it is set aside as a time to remember friends and relatives lost to AIDS, take stock of the lessons learned over the year, and to review any progress towards stemming the tide of this challenging affliction. World AIDS Day is part of a broader World AIDS Campaign, and the theme this year “Stop AIDS: Keep The Promise” is one that should be taken very seriously by the Zimbabwe government. Keeping the promise requires commitment, and according to Glen Norah MP Priscilla Misihairabwi, the Zimbabwe government does not have any commitment.

While other countries organised many events to mark AIDS Day on Thursday, the Zimbabwe parliament sat through budget proposals for 2006 which were announced by finance minister Herbert Murerwa. MP Misihairabwi said the important issue of AIDS, which affects all other areas of development, was mentioned in only one sentence. She said the country has run out of the drugs that are needed and condoms are not available. Misihairabwi said the limited supplies available usually wind up in the hands of a small priviledged class of people, while the poor and needy have no access to services.

Zimbabwe has created a very dangerous situation by failing to provide Anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Misihairabwi said this could help develop a mutated strain of the HIV virus. In turn, those with the mutated virus could then infect others and spread this new form that is resistant to the current drugs. Asked why the government has chosen to ignore this problem, the MP said they had lost a sense of what is relevant. She said they spent loads of money on a new cabinet and new vehicles while the more serious issues go unresolved.

The MP criticised recent statistics by The United Nations that claimed that infection rates in the country were down. She said it is difficult to accept these figures when many people are not receiving therapy and drugs and condoms are unavailable. As the 2005 World AIDS Day theme is “Keeping The Promise”, the government needs to remember the promises it made to the United Nations by being signatory to numerous charters that respect human rights.