ACW Interview: Oliver Kanene, CEO of Centre for Community Enterprise, Zambia
ACW Interview with Oliver Kanene, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Community Enterprise, Lusaka, Zambia.
ACW: The vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) do not have access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.
Can you comment on current progress in scaling up of ARV provision in your local context? Are ARVs available? What are the consequences of the delay in expanding ARV access?
OK: In Zambia ARV provision is increasing. However, access is still restricted by expensive pre-medication tests and not all government institutions are providing ARVs free of charge. In some government hospitals people still have to pay.
There is no doubt that universal access in the context of Zambia is a pipe dream because government does not have the resources particularly trained personnel to manage treatments.
ACW: Comprehensive HIV/AIDS care ranges from HIV counselling and testing services through to palliative care for those close to the end of life.
Aside from ARVs, which other care and treatment options do you think are likely to add years or quality to someone’s life?
OK: The most important care and treatment option for Zambian persons living with HIV/AIDS is the provision of food supplements especially in the absence of access to ARVs
ACW: One of the main differences between rich and poor regions in relation to HIV/AIDS is a more rapid progression towards AIDS-related illness in developing countries.
What do you think might be the reasons for this difference? Can you recommend any measures that may alleviate this more rapid progression?
OK: The rapid progression towards AIDS in poor setting is due to lack of access to opportunistic infection treatment, poor nutrition and in some cases stigma.
ACW: People living with HIV have a much higher lifetime risk of developing a range of common, potentially fatal, and yet treatable diseases, such as TB and meningitis.
Is adequate or appropriate attention being given at the national or international level to preventing and treating these conditions? Would greater attention significantly add years or quality to PWHAs lives?
OK: In Zambia government is making every effort to attend to these illnesses especially TB. Resources for this like for HIV/AIDS treatments are dependent on donor support making them extremely precarious. Yes people would live longer and better if these [other illnesses] are avoided.
ACW: Many – if not almost all – HIV-related interventions are concerned with doing things or providing material for people.
In what ways do you think affected people can be empowered to take more control of their own health? What impact do you think this would have on their day-to-day lives?
OK: Increase treatment literacy.
ACW: A number of initiatives and policy activities in 2005 – for examplethe Millennium Development Goals (MDG) review in September, pressure among G8 governments to accelerate debt relief and increase overseas development aid, and the final benchmark of the WHO 3x5 initiative –suggest that this year may be a crucial ‘tipping point’ that leads to greater attention to development in general and HIV/AIDS in particular.
What is your feeling about this? Do you consider 2005 to be a significant year? What are your hopes?
OK: While I do have hopes for the year, commitments made by developed countries to support development programs in Zambia must be fulfilled. My hope is that suopport will be given to training para-medical staff to increase expertise in the management of HIV/AIDS treatments which will increase the number of people on ARVs and reduce deaths.
(ends)
The AIDS-Care-Watch Campaign is a global initiative with the goal of reducing the number of HIV-related deaths in 2005. The campaign has over 240 non-governmental and civil society partners throughout the world. For more information about the campaign and its partners, please go to www.aidscarewatch.org or email info@aidscarewatch.org
ACW: The vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) do not have access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.
Can you comment on current progress in scaling up of ARV provision in your local context? Are ARVs available? What are the consequences of the delay in expanding ARV access?
OK: In Zambia ARV provision is increasing. However, access is still restricted by expensive pre-medication tests and not all government institutions are providing ARVs free of charge. In some government hospitals people still have to pay.
There is no doubt that universal access in the context of Zambia is a pipe dream because government does not have the resources particularly trained personnel to manage treatments.
ACW: Comprehensive HIV/AIDS care ranges from HIV counselling and testing services through to palliative care for those close to the end of life.
Aside from ARVs, which other care and treatment options do you think are likely to add years or quality to someone’s life?
OK: The most important care and treatment option for Zambian persons living with HIV/AIDS is the provision of food supplements especially in the absence of access to ARVs
ACW: One of the main differences between rich and poor regions in relation to HIV/AIDS is a more rapid progression towards AIDS-related illness in developing countries.
What do you think might be the reasons for this difference? Can you recommend any measures that may alleviate this more rapid progression?
OK: The rapid progression towards AIDS in poor setting is due to lack of access to opportunistic infection treatment, poor nutrition and in some cases stigma.
ACW: People living with HIV have a much higher lifetime risk of developing a range of common, potentially fatal, and yet treatable diseases, such as TB and meningitis.
Is adequate or appropriate attention being given at the national or international level to preventing and treating these conditions? Would greater attention significantly add years or quality to PWHAs lives?
OK: In Zambia government is making every effort to attend to these illnesses especially TB. Resources for this like for HIV/AIDS treatments are dependent on donor support making them extremely precarious. Yes people would live longer and better if these [other illnesses] are avoided.
ACW: Many – if not almost all – HIV-related interventions are concerned with doing things or providing material for people.
In what ways do you think affected people can be empowered to take more control of their own health? What impact do you think this would have on their day-to-day lives?
OK: Increase treatment literacy.
ACW: A number of initiatives and policy activities in 2005 – for examplethe Millennium Development Goals (MDG) review in September, pressure among G8 governments to accelerate debt relief and increase overseas development aid, and the final benchmark of the WHO 3x5 initiative –suggest that this year may be a crucial ‘tipping point’ that leads to greater attention to development in general and HIV/AIDS in particular.
What is your feeling about this? Do you consider 2005 to be a significant year? What are your hopes?
OK: While I do have hopes for the year, commitments made by developed countries to support development programs in Zambia must be fulfilled. My hope is that suopport will be given to training para-medical staff to increase expertise in the management of HIV/AIDS treatments which will increase the number of people on ARVs and reduce deaths.
(ends)
The AIDS-Care-Watch Campaign is a global initiative with the goal of reducing the number of HIV-related deaths in 2005. The campaign has over 240 non-governmental and civil society partners throughout the world. For more information about the campaign and its partners, please go to www.aidscarewatch.org or email info@aidscarewatch.org
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 10:15 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home