MINISTER of Health has said that it is time to act against the premature death from HIV by taking necessary steps to ensure HIV is endemically controlled in Zambia by 2021.
The minister who was speaking at the PF interactive forum said the decision by government to make compulsory HIV testing is to prevent premature HIV deaths.
“Let us not play games, we can prevent premature HIV death,” Dr Chilufya said. “Who tells you it’s your human right to die, or your human right to kill yourself, or to infect the young girls?”
He noted that HIV was responsible for many poverty issues in the Zambia as it has ended up claiming the lives of the breadwinners in homes. “HIV is fueling poverty, it is taking away breadwinners,” Dr Chilufya said. “Let us not pretend we have seen families crumble because a winner has gone.”
He said President Lungu was being a responsible leader by making such a bold step noting that the decision had extreme benefits.
“What is the benefit of this thing you are saying President Lungu is forcing you to do?” he queried. “The benefit of knowing is that we will start you on free treatment if you are found positive.”
He explained that Antiretroviral treatment prevents the virus from replicating and can eventually be reduced to undetectable levels that a person may not even be able to infect the next person.
Dr Chilufya emphasized that the end goal of ART is viral load suppression. He said ART should not be reserved until someone is critically ill.
And the Green Party has issued the following statement regarding the mandatory HIV Testing
GREEN PARTY CHALLENGES THE US AMBASSADOR TO STATE AMERICA’S POSITION ON RECENTLY PROCLAIMED MANDATORY HIV TESTING POLICY IN ZAMBIA
Following the proclamation of the compulsory HIV testing policy by President Edgar Lungu on this week on Monday, this means bilateral support on reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS in Zambia will used to promote breach of Bill of Rights of the Zambia Constitution of 1996, in particular Articles 15, 17 and 23.
Furthermore, the proclaimed policy will be in breach of international standards on HIV/AIDS testing.
As the Green Party, we note that the bulk of the United States (US) assistance to Zambia, which is provided through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and estimated to be in excess of US$ 250 million per year, which is targeted on improving health with a particular focus on reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS, is very significant bilateral support to our great Nation. This is probably the largest bilateral support Zambia receives towards HIV/AIDS programming.
While we applaud the support of the American people on this noble cause, however, we do not support the view that such support should be provided to the detriment of the human rights of the Zambian People.
In this regard, we Challenge the US Ambassador to state America’s position on this policy which clearly is blatantly in breach of the Zambian Constitution and International Law.
We further challenge the Ambassador to clarify whether the proclaimed policy is what President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy means for Zambia.
Peter Sinkamba, Green Party President
That is the truth.
The pain of living in a third world country is lack of knowledge. I really don’t see where the government is wrong and you have lightweights spitting “Human Rights”. What human rights are you talking about, infecting other people? Did you know that in the USA failure to announce your HIV status to your sexual partners is prosecutable? Ba Sinkamba I wish could express my disappointment in a 140 characters.
Next, they should outlaw polygamy. They should also be touch on sex with an underage, knowingly infecting others with HIV,…
Apart from violating human right, this PF policy will make a lot of people, especially those in rural areas to avoid going to clinics when sick, people will now be going Sangoma’s for treatment and they from curable illness.
Wow Chitalu Chilufya, that is succide. Where are these manners of insulting Zambians come from?kill yourself??? A medical doctor? How can he apologise.
The intention is good but the whole idea sucks.
@Zambia1 To your sexual partners yes and that must be a crime even In Zambia. But to everyone else No!
Also it is everyone’s right to ask a new partner’s status before Ukucita. Get tested together after that. Simple.
It’s cute how the PF government and health minister are making it seem like this is their initiative.There are external actors at play.Test and treat has been rolled out in other African countries and it’s just Zambians turn now.Perhaps WHO was going in alphabetical order and its Zambia’s turn now.Zimbabwe you are next! We are not a sovereign state anymore,our health policies are decided by other people just like our justice system is decided by other people (Commonwealth et al.,2017)
In the United State, I hope in Zambia too, HIV testing is mandatory for all pregnant women who seek maternity services at any hospital or clinic. And no one has cried HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS on behalf of these women. Why? Well, because it is well understood that benefits outweigh negatives—benefits such as preventing mother to unborn baby HIV TRANSMISSION.
So why not help these mothers NOT get infected to start with by testing “THE MEN” to and if found POSITIVE, put them on treatment early and avoid the EPIDEMIC OF ORPHANS in our Country. What is wrong with that approach? You can bet, most of this resistance is probably coming from men!
Any stoopid act can be defended. That doesn’t make it right
HIV testing is not mandatory in the U.S. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), HIV testing is recommended for all pregnant women and for any newborn whose mother’s HIV status is unknown. CDC recommends that all HIV screening be voluntary, and 1) opt-out (the healthcare worker suggests that it would be good idea to take a test, and that it will be carried out unless the patient asks for it not to be done, that is, the patient is notified that the test will be performed and consent is inferred unless the patient declines) vs. 2) opt-in (patients need to specifically ask to have an HIV test themselves). Under opt-in, the test is offered to the patient who must explicitly consent to an HIV test, often in writing). In short, patients can refuse consent for an HIV test, just as…
WHY ARE AFRICANS SUCH COWARDS, JUST AN HIV TEST AND YOU GO BANANAS BUT YOU TINKER FOR SEX LIKE MONKEYS, ONE A** TODAY AND ANOTHER A** TOMORROW AND SO ON EVEN WHEN YOU ARE MARRIED.
I support the government on this. It is necessary to arrest the spread of this killer disease.
Please preach that message to the prostitutes who are peddling flesh in Matero ,Kalingalinga and the young men impregnating school girls in rural Zambia.
What about women infecting young boys? Look, it is not about not getting tested, that we all agree is important, rather it is about having the choice to get tested or not, that’s the human right here.
I should not be forced to take a test I am not mentally ready to take, that’s why it is voluntary. And people getting tested is not going to stop them from engaging in unprotected sex.
Are you going to force treatment down people’s throats if they don’t want to take them? Are you going to force them from engaging in unprotected sex? At some point you have to ask when it all stops.
Lastly, this was not debated in parliament, therefore my views through my representative MP have not been taken into account. This is therefore a human right violation and an act of dictatorship.
PF like ZanuPF is a dictatorship. They think because its a state of emergency they can decree anything. Ka Lungu wants to protect his visible weaknesses by giving himself illegal political power
@lambs, Any Govt on earth is allowed, and rightfully so I might add, to take away your individual human rights in the interest of PUBLIC HEALTH. Such health campaigns are NOT NEW in human history. Take for instance IMMUNIZATION campaigns, it might be right to refuse any medical treatment or to be immunized, say against polio, but in the interest of public health for the population at large, Govt can compel you or your children to get immunized against polio—some of us who grew up in the 70S and 80S in Zambia went through this.
A Jehovah’s witness can refuse blood transfusion and if you give them blood you can be sued. There are many precedents for that.
And what will they be suing for?
And does refusing a blood transfusion got to do with PUBLIC HEALTH? Most likely whatever hails to require a blood transfusion can NOT be transmitted to others like the HIV VIRUS can. So there is no compelling public health reasons for Govt to take interest in that situation.
The Minister of Health and the Minister of Southern Province who thinks that you cannot be infected by HIV-AIDS virus when you’re circumcised are birds of the same feather’s. Ignorance runs deep in these men.
Why must we allow ourselves to become victims of ignorance?
Mandatory testing is to encroach in other peoples privacy.In the long run,names will be advertised of all the people who will be found positive.In an environment where stigma is rife,people will have second thoughts to be mandatory tested.There are working places where people with HIV have been marginalized in terms of promotion and participating in institutional cake.This mandatory testing is a recipe for marginalization and stigmatization.If government has failed to deal with issues of stigma,how are they going to curb marginalization in a work environment.Government is creating an elephant in a room which they will fail to contain.This is a storm in a cup of tea.Issues to do with human rights cannot be decided by a few just like formulation of constitution.We were supposed to have a…
The Zambia army discriminates against HIV positive employees
IT IS STILL ONE’S CHOICE TO GET DIAGONIZED FOR A DISEASE AS SYMPTOMS MANIFEST! YOU DON”T FORCE THEM! As you do this Bwana Minister, please come up also with a list of diseases for which we can TEST ALL THOSE ASPIRING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE as it is NOT THEIR RIGHT TO MISUSE PUBLIC RESOURCES TO SEEK TREATMENT ABROAD AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MAJORITY!! I am sure some of you cannot make a score when we starting testing you for high BP and even HIV!!
Funny people are causing upheaval over testing for HIV. It is mandatory in UK to test all pregnant women regardless of whether you say yes or no.. I don’t know why we africans bury our heads in sand when something to do with your health is such an issue. Knowing is saving a life ignorance doesn’t.
@9.1 Greenwhich resident, I AM NOT IN UK, I am healthy but I believe a procedure testing requires authorization. I have been to hospital, clinic etc for treatment but even when they want stool or blood sample they explain what they need it for and why they suspect based on the symptoms such tests are necessary!! STAY WITH YOUR UK issues but remember that it is only pregnant women and its is done in the interest of children to PREVENT MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION, DO THEY TEST ANYBODY WHO TURNS UP FOR TREATMENT EVEN FOR AN INJURY?? EVEN HERE IN ZAMBIA, PREGNANT WOMEN are tested in the interest of preventing mother to child transmission!! So Mr Greenwhich..your COPY, CUT and PASTE way of doing things is a manifestation of failing to understanding the context in which we need to act!!
I know the effect this will have on the conduct of our medical staff. Before any proper diagnosis is done on the patient’ s presentation, HIV testing will be the top priority.Once you are positive they will withdraw, adopt a casual attitude, and watch you die. I have seen this happen to close relatives and am an authority about what happens in these public hospitals.
Further Note that ARV treatment is not immediate.It takes time for the body to respond to this treatment. Its not like you are given the Drugs today, tomoro your immunity improves .Improve on the diagnosis of TB, Pneumonia, and other opportunistic diseases, and adopt effective treatment regimes. Also note that Aids is a chronic condition. If you create conditions for laxity on the acute conditions, and focus on HIV. You…
This govt can not spin anything even with right intentions…really laughable…too many empty tins!!
If hh had proposed this it would have been ok for jaundiced jay jay.
THE MOVE BY GOVERNMENT IS LONG OVERDUE AND IS PRE-EMPTIVE.
Who told you jay jay is upnd. Anybody who disagrees with the government is upnd. Dull chaps
I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY ZAMBIANS ARE INSISTING ON NOT GETTING A COMPULSORY HIV TESTING SO THAT THEY CAN INSTANTLY GETTING ON THE TREATMENT ONCE FOUND HIV POSITIVE. COMPULSORY TESTING WILL SAVE MANY LIVES INCLUDING THE SUFFERERS THEMSELVES, THE UNSUSPECTING VICTIMS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE BABIES WHO MAY BE INFECTED BY CARELESS INDISCRIMINATE ADULTS. TO MY SURPRISE AGAIN IT IS THE NGOs IN THE FOREFRONT OF INCITING THE GENERAL PUBLIC AGAINST COMPULSORY TESTING WITHOUT MINDING THE PLIGHT OF BABIES WHO MAY CATCH HIV BEFORE THEY EVEN GET BORN. COMPULSORY TESTING WILL ALSO MAKE COURT CASES CONCERNING HIV/AIDS EASIER TO DEAL WITH.
Its what they will do with that information…just like phone registration initially it was about “secruity” now its about charging people for municipal refuse collection.
What is the treatment for hiv/aids? Do you even know?
And it isn’t the right of the government to make policy based on false data. Remember that the farmaceutical corporations and their activists wanted the South African government to give ARVs to every pregnant woman in the land whether they tested HIV positive or not, based on the bogus statistic that 25% of South Africans were HIV positive.
PF is a party of serious deals. This is double tobela for them. Kick backs are certain for procurement of test kits and supply of ARVs! More business for Laboratories and Pharmaceutical gurus. By the way, has MOH stopped rationing ARVs? Have we created a sink fund for procuring our own ARVs in case donors stop supporting us? Or are we going to be beggars forever? Are we still Sovereign?
This is a progressive move by the PF govt; I am surprised that there are immoral people out there opposing this great announcement. We have the President of Green Party – Peter Sinkamba talking about things that he doesn’t understand. In the USA and Europe, it is a criminal offence to willingly infect anyone with HIV. It is treated on the same level as grievous bodily harm. The PF government now needs to criminalise willful transmission of HIV. Many Africans are serving jail sentences in USA and Europe for thinking they can ignore the consequences of transmitting HIV.
It is a crime but they dont force the test on people
HIV and AIDS cases were first diagnosed in Zambia in the early eighties; successive governments have failed to take this matter seriously. Why is it that under age girls are prostituting in urban areas? These girls are servicing an insatiable market of middle-class men.
I see no problem with HTCT cos this is olred being implemented here in Lusaka especially in some Government Health facilities and its working for some time now. So, its up to those who olwez want to do politics let them do the barking not until they succumb to the pademic.
Fine. Test everyone but are you going to follow them in their homes to check if they are taking the medication? Will it stop HIV positive men from infecting innocent young Girls simply because they have been tested? Stop thinking emotionally. The government should tackle the root causes of promiscuity of which poverty is the major reason. Creating an environment that will empower the girl child through education and employment opportunities will reduce dependence on the sex trade for survival. Government should continue with the tried and successful VCT.Sensitisation is the best. If one voluntarily tests the higher the chances of taking the medication than if forced. It’s sensitisation that has worked in Uganda a country once ravaged with Aids. Stop trying policies that can’t work…
besides breaching international human right. ARVS by the way are largely funded by the donner community. We don’t want to lose such support because of carelessness by the government.
It is sad we have a minister of health who is a doctor who doesn’t seem to get it right. I wonder why they have not gone to Botswana to benchmark how we did it there. We never used words like “mandatory” or “compulsory” or “compliance”. Those are police words which have no place in public health policy! We used “Routine testing” where everyone who visits a health institution is respectfully offered the opportunity to undergo counseling and testing. The patient still had the autonomy to choose whether to test or not. Our policy in its current form is unconstitutional and unethical! Everyone has the God-given right to choose between life and death! Read Deuteronomy 28!
Botswana hiv related deaths reduced because a huge number of people who had aids died. That is not a positive thing to boast about. Look at their population now and tell me if it is growing from the time hiv infections started.
People have been hiding their hiv status for many years. Can someone convince me with figures starting from 1985 if the percentage of the infection rate and deaths related to aids has been declining or ascending. Tell me also the benefits it has had on the community by hiding your status in the name of human rights. What we see which is the truth is that the more people hide it the higher the infection rate and deaths. Forget about stigma. Has that upnd mp princess died after disclosing her status. She is living happily. Govt wants to know about your status so that they can treat you because you have a right to live heathy not to infect others and die. Know where the benefits of your rights lie stop cheating yourself.
True that @HH OVAL HEAD. I completely agree with you! What is the benefit of LIVING IN IGNORANCE or DENIAL and still DIE, or getting tested and put on LIFE PROLONGING meds if infected and maybe even see your children graduate from college or get married?
Flat brain, it doesn’t work like that in reality. It is not by might or by force that you can succeed with this kind of wrong approach. The public often distorts information and hence the importance of choosing words carefully. The idea of taking ARVs for life is another controversial issue that has been overlooked. It is not going to be that simple. Counseling and persuasion is what has contributed to successful adherence to therapy. Routine testing is what you should be advocating and not mandatory! Don’t you get it?
@ Greenwich resident… It is not mandatory for pregnant women to take an HIV test in the UK. Most of them agree to have a test taken after explanation of it’s benefit for mum and baby. They can still say no. Even situations where HIV tests are conducted anonymously (e.g. from residue blood left after other tests) people cannot be notified of the same without their consent. Medical privacy and choice is respected here except where it is needed in cases of intentional infection – even that requires process and scientific proof.
I am surprised that a minister of health can take the side of political expediency instead of advising on facts from his calling and obligation to the human being.
Please stop misleading people on this forum; ALL pregnant women visiting the antenatal clinics are screened for HIV and other hereditary blood diseases such as sickle cell. This matter should not be politicized; why are HIV patients continuing to pick up young girls on Zambian streets? Here in the western world, visitors coming from countries with ebola epidemic are routinely checked for high temperatures and other symptoms at the port of entry. There is no issue of medical privacy; it is a political decision – period.
I don’t think he is misleading. Just like in the U.S. HIV testing is not mandatory. Healthcare workers discuss the benefits of testing, or make patients aware that tests are available. That’s why most of the pregnant women take the test. They are free to decline.
@D&Rc, Muna is right. What we know from experience is that when you explain very well the importance and benefits of the test, people will test 100% because you have empowered them with the truth to make an informed choice. Patient Autonomy is retained and the patient retains the choice to opt out. This new mandatory policy only works for animals that can’t choose. We are talking of human beings with a strong free will that cannot be assailed or taken away!
Why HIV? Why not make it obligatory to test for all STI’s and any other infectious condition? Picking on HIV further mystifies it, exacerbates stigma by giving it an aura of shame and is discriminatory.
It has become apparent that the proclamation of the compulsory HIV testing policy by Edgar Lungu was initiated by Dr Chilufya. One can tell by the way the doctor is supporting the policy to the hilt. This PF Government is applying the Symptomatic treatment instead of treating the underlying causes of the symptoms (Poverty).
I dont know what to feel now. I must teach myself not to feel the pain of other people. I feel pain when i see people dying of preventable deaths like HIV. How do you help people who dont want to help themselves. A long time ago i saw a man with severe hyprtension. I councelled and treated his hypertension and asked him to return for review. He did not return. I sam him a month later with a stroke; he was paralysed and could not help himself. His poor wife was in tears. I still councelled him and the wife and scheduled to see him two weeks later. He never returned. I only heard the inevitable on ZNBC after the 2000hrs news. I was hurt but what could i do. We have the solution to stop unnecessary suffering as a consequency of HIV now but it seems people ‘s heads are under the sand. Should…
That is what you call the power of choice. There is very little you can do about it. And this is where our health system has failed. Do we do follow up home visits to know the social circumstances as to why appointments could not be honored? Care does not exist any more in our so called healthcare system and that is because we have come to love money more than fellow man!
What happened to the indoor residual spraying programme: Mosquitos and malaria are on the rebound.
Actually all Pregnant women in Zambia are tested and screened for HIV mandatory when they attend anti-natal clinical care and this has been done all long…Why are these Dudes complaining and shouting human rights when their pregnant wives are already been screened for HIV in Zambia…
@ Zakeyo, you are very right. In Zambia, it is mandatory for ALL pregnant women to be screened and/or tested for HIV/AIDS the first day they go for anti-natal. And nowadays, modern equipment are able to screen for almost all the diseases in just one sample of blood submitted to the lab on its print out. So whats, this noise all about? Ignorance at its best!!!!
@Zakeyo and friend, what you are referring to is Routine testing which must be done on all pregnant women following counseling of the woman and partner. The good thing is that people accept to test 100% when you have done your counseling properly. It is wrong to carry out any test without explaining fully to the patient what you are doing. The patient deserves to know and their permission must be sought or you can be sued or sorted out!
A highly debatable issue as I can see.
The solution to the problem isn’t in knowing your status, as it may sound from the minister’s statement. Unless you’re totally abstinent, it’s simply in waiting for the right partner and being faithful to each other when get married.
It’s not that people don’t know what is right, as several surveys have revealed, they just don’t like it when being forced to do what is right.
Right intent but wrong debate. People already know their status. What are you trying to achieve?
Zambia is a Christian nation my foot ,so much hypocrisy with underage pregnancies ,prostitutes in urban areas and STD’s spreadind like bushfires.
So, if PF finds out that 25% of Zambians are positive – what next?
This will just cause International stigma towards Zambians especially when traveling abroad. Why Lungu is put Zambia on the world map as a HIV infested country? PF is indeed full of empty tins and corrupt fools.
Solution is to channel and invest resources towards employment creation and education – not this nonsense where Lungu will just be getting a cut!
So if people are screened and are HIV positive, what will stop them from sleeping around? Are going to carry certificates or named and shamed? Pathetic policy,
One caveat is being overlooked. Since way back when many STDs have been attributed to foreigners . There once was “Tanzania” channelled through Somali petrolium Truck drivers, Kaswende etc. These were deadly viruses with no known cure. So if the strategy is to test everyone will this include foreign nationals? No nation is immune from these health pitfalls. The National Enquirer just published a mosaic of Hollywood stars titled Sex degrees of separation showing a bevy of stars and how they linked by sexual liasons. At the top is Usher who carries and allegedly infected others with herpes.Then the bottom falls off as this one is doing that one who did so and so…….So there is panic because nobody wants to be exposed much less find out they are receipients. SO THE ISSUE IS NOT UNIQUE…
1.Repent.
2.Stop adultery and fornication.
3.One Man, One Woman.
4.No sex Before Marriage.
5.Husbands Love your wives all Heartedly, So as Wives.
6.Stick to one sexual Partner and change styles not partners.
7.Use a condom in case of a prostitute.
Circumcision is good but misleading.
Education is not equivalent to wisdom. Mistake number 1. Ba Chilufya kwenanamulufyanya Ministry of Health big time! You will go down in history as the man who crippled public health norms in Zambia. People will be fearing to visit hospitals and clinics now. Testing should never be a matter of force! That is unethical and morally wrong! MOH has always told the public that HIV infection rates have gone down. Why this panick? Was it a lie? Or it is the deal for chalk from Asia?
I totally agree with you. A lot of people will be staying away from health institutions. The health Minister should know better than any person that AIDS is not like any other disease, it is a very sensitive and emotive issue which must be handled with extreme care. And honestly with this new policy I foresee a lot more people dying from this dreadful illness than ever before because they will be avoiding going to the clinics. Of course it is my human right to die, it is my life. It is only God who can say “it is not my human right to die” because He’s the one who gave me life. That’s why we were saying last year that we do not know what will become of this country by 2021
PF IF YOU WANT TO LOSE THE 2021 ELECTIONS PLEASE CONTINUE WITH SUCH DISREGARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, WE WILL TURN AGAINST YOU LIKE WE DID WITH UNIP AND MMD LEARN FROM THAT.
BA PF IF YOU WANT TO LOSE THE 2021 ELECTIONS PLEASE CONTINUE WITH SUCH DISREGARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, WE WILL TURN AGAINST YOU LIKE WE DID WITH UNIP AND MMD LEARN FROM THAT. ALSO BEFORE YOU MAKE SUCH STATEMENTS TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE MANY INTERNATIONAL TREATIES THAT YOU ARE SIGNATORIES TO YOU ARE EMBARRASSING US.
IF THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE BY UPND CADRES INDICATE THE THINKING OF UPND AS A PARTY THEN UPND SHOULD REMAIN IN THE OPPOSITION AS IT HAS NOTHING TO OFFER THE ZAMBIAN PUBLIC.
WELL DONE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT now this LAW must come with its penalties, what if a patient refused to be tested ? Any punitive action? If i test will i be given a certificate pakweba ati next time no testing, how long does it take before i can get my results? Does ir mean testing is every time i visit the hospital regardless of disease, so many questions than answers
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE HIDE THEIR HIV STATUS.JUST GO AND TEST AND LIVE!!!!!!!!!
Personally, I would be happier being informed of my status and accessing treatment earlier in my illness. I am just wondering how they will ensure “mandatory”. Will they start with work institutions, church members etc? Or will they put conditions such as : test before you shop, before you see a general practitioner, or when you apply for a job? How is this going to be enforced to ensure that every citizen is tested and treated , if infected? It sounds like a very costly initiative.
Let it be trialled, it may be what we need to reduce premature deaths.
I am neither for or against, but can someone confirm that this is going on in Uganda and how it’s working and how people have received it?
BA MINISTER PLEASE TAKE THIS DEBATE TO PARLIAMENT,STOP MAKING UNILATERAL DECISIONS,CABINET ALONE CAN ENFORCE SUCH AN ACT UNILATERALLY.IT HAS GOT PRO AND CONS.
I support mandatory checks for HIV just like we get checked for malaria, hemoglobin, and BP when need be.The authorities at the hospital do not ask for your opinion. How I wished there could be a way to identify them/us because those opposed have a hidden agenda and it can only be to spread it like a bush fire. Others have found a subject on which they can oppose the Government move even when they have NOTHING convincing to counter offer. When you go for treatment at a health institution, it is better to be subjected to this test because you could be wasting medicines when the underlying cause could be the ….. You actually become unproductive to a larger extent when you are sick every now and then.
Support the GOVT 100% on this one. Let us not behave like ostriches which buries its heads in the sand when it sees danger while the whole of its body is exposed. In SA its routine to test for HIV for any illness
Human rights is also to respect and the humans alive and promote good lives .
Humans being can be confusing they can choose to kill themselves , my point is the Dr. Is correct because even bitter medicine you are prescribed to shallow so you can recover from your disease.
The same is true better to prevent HIV than to catch it .
Rhodesians those who oppose may be carriers i fully support this.Dont be fooled with little minded people from green party
Most of those who are afraid of testing are promiscuous men and women.
If Govt said that there will be mandatory testing for malaria, non will have a protest match.
One Zambian musican at his death bed publicly boasted, quote: ‘ although I am dying, I have spread the disease and many will follow me soon.’ Indeed many followed him.
So stop hiding and go and be tasted for the sake of other people’s health.
You can be HIV positive for many years without exhibiting symptoms and spread it without ever visiting a clinic or hospital. That’s how its spread in majority of cases, how is testing only people presenting to hospitals going to fix that? You wanna abuse peoples rights at least do it properly and test everyone in offices an schools etc, also in parliament and government ministries. Total nonsense.