The Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) of Chipata in Eastern province has requested the New Start Centre to provide mobile VCT services in Mambwe district following an outcry by residents.
ADRA district coordinator Boniface Kalaswa disclosed that ADRA had already approached New Start Centre to respond to the needs of the people of Mambwe toaccess the mobile VCT services.
Mr. Kalaswa disclosed this in an interview with ZANIS today, at Katopola farmers training institute in Chipata where ADRA was holding a workshop for neighbourhood health committees.
”We have already approached new start centre for a mobile VCT to be conducted in
communities in the district and they have also shown interest and willingness to provide the services as long as it was less than 50 kilometers while beyond that ADRA will have to foot the bill,” he said.
Mr. Kalaswa said ADRA would soon come up with a budget on the matter because it was
happy that the message had reached the people and that the organisation will respect
the will of the people by providing them with free VCT services closer to where they lived.
He said his organization incorporated HIV/AIDS in all the programmes because it realized how crucial it was to tackle the problem from all angles because it retards development in the country.
Mr. Kalaswa said behaviour change in the fight against the disease was cardinal hence the need for a continuous sensitization programme to educate the residents on the need to change their behaviour.
Mr. Kalaswa said ADRA was aware that HIV/AIDS impacted negatively on members of
society hence the need to tackle the root cause of the scourge.
”We realise that the scourge does not spare any body and that it impacts negatively
on individuals, households, communities and the public sector such that when a family member fell sick most of the time it is the family members who take care of the patient,” he said.
Mr. Kalaswa said if a lot of people got sick in the country, development suffers as most public institutions would lose human resource.
He has since urged residents to go for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), which he described as a positive step towards the eradication of HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Kalaswa has since praised the traditional in the area and ministry of health for working closely with ADRA as it educate.
