Friday, March 29, 2024

The Population based HIV assessment survey is harmless and meant to assess progress in HIV programs-Minister of Health

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Health Minister Dr. Chitalu Chilufya says Zambia is among 13 nations where a population based HIV impact assessment survey is being conducted,findings of which will be announced at the United Nations General Assembly in September this year.This is in in order to assess if countries including Zambia have attained the UNAIDS 90/90/90 targets.

He announced that Zambia is one of the nation’s that was targeted for attainment of epidemic control of HIV/AIDS by 2020.

“Mr speaker, these targets means that 90% of People living with HIV will know their status, 90% of People with diagnosed HIV will receive sustained Anti retroviral treatment and 90% of all People receiving ART will have viral suppression,” he said.

Dr. Chilufya said this during the question for oral answer session at Parliament this morning.

He said the Zambian government under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu has 1. 1 million Zambians on Anti retroviral therapy of the 1.2 Million currently living with HIV in the nation.

He said this is a far cry from the paltry 3000 that were on the therapy in 2003.

He said the United States government has pumped in, in excess of US$4 billion dollars in programs to fight HIV in the nation, stating that a survey to assess if those programs are working is therefore an imperative.

Dr. Chilufya emphasised that a population based impact assessment survey is harmless and meant only to assess progress in HIV programming.

However, members of the public have received this study with mixed feeling due to the current civil unrest with people being killed on suspicion of being ritual killers or “gassers”. The safety of those officials collecting blood during this time is not guaranteed.

26 COMMENTS

  1. This minister is slow, thugs are entering in his hospitals to steal patients in broad day light and can’t call on ZNS to stop such inhumane nonsese?

    • If “The safety of those officials collecting blood during this time is not guaranteed”. Lets postponed the exercise. Or data and results from other countries can be inferred on Zambia.

  2. “…..He said the United States government has pumped in, in excess of US$4 billion dollars in programs to fight HIV in the nation, ….”

    Was not one of your high ranking PF officials , Dr Frank bwalya who told us the USA does nothing for Zambia ?

    And can you push your colligues to issue a statement when the USA will replace ambassodor Foote ???

  3. Always campaigning for Vice President position, that is why in all his statements he says his excellence this and that. Please be reminded that there are no medicines in hospital.

  4. We are suffering from fear, poverty and you want to go door to door and suck our blood like vampires? This will cause desperation and panic

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  5. Boss, its straight forward, do not insist on risking your health workers into those households, until calm is imparted.

    The lusaka council has suspended the rvaluation exercise out of wisdom.

    This is one aspect, security of workers.

    The second aspect is suspicion. People are pouncing on anyone they suspect.

    Thirdly this process needs the community to corporate. Right now there is anger out there. So this process wont receive corporation and may not achieve it’s intended goal

    Right now caution is the greatest weapon.

    For these reasons suspend everything othetiwsie I see your health workers fearing to go into the households.

    I wish you good luck and strength Dr Chilufya as you draw yourself to this reality and simply allow time.for healing

  6. After this spate of hysteria about gassing has died out and people realise they still have no jobs , I see widespread riots.

  7. This is certainly no way to collect data. Something is not right with this whole exercise. There is an easier and faster way to test for HIV without drawing blood. I suppose blood collected from victims of gassing and ritual killings is not coming in fast enough. The need for blood by PF to appease their gods so that they can win another 5 year mandate could be behind this whole thing. Satan has made Zambia his home.

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  8. How come this blood issue comes after a spate of gassing people to obtain blood has led to people who are suspected being killed by mobs. Some will think that now that people are vigilant with this gassing issue the government is using this home strategy to obtain the blood they are failing to get through gassing. Some may link this gassing to govt in trying to speed up the testa to get funds. Qualified medical people are the ones who could have known the effects of using aluminum phosphide on people. The more people get gassed the more they go to the hospital the more they have people in the hospital to conduct tests on seeing that they couldn’t manage using voluntary way. Because since it started I haven’t seen anywhere a person killed by these gassers nor have I seen pictures on a…

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  9. Mudala don’t even try and put the lives of our Health Workers to risk please don’t dare send them to be knocking on people’s houses because they risk being burnt alive!

    A problem that is so straight forward to solve is taking weeks, arrest the criminal instant justice gangs then peace will be restored!

  10. Collecting blood at this time is very suspicious. The people could now believe that this is the ritual blood the thieves gassing us are looking for.
    Dr Chilufya we will bring blood ourselves to the hospital, and please don’t follow us at our houses. Currently no trust

  11. Then terminate the programme sir. Importantly the issue is about sensitisation. What we, u now need to do is go viral. Visit every tv, radio staion and disseminate the same program and when everyone is comfortable then proceed. Remember that not too many people in Zambia are well read. Involved your foot soldiers, councillors, DCs ward chairmen and the like.

  12. No one will come into my home to draw blood from me or my children. Because you have failed to get the liters of blood you need for your evil intents through gassing, you now want to do it through the front door. No no no. You can eat as many snakes as possible and draw so much blood from us, you will not succeed in your evil schemes.
    Just call for early elections and get out

  13. Going door to door is not the way to go.Why cant you just establish centers were people can be going for blood sample?
    I personally can not risk giving blood samples to anyone knocking on my door.With the current situation in the country its a failed door to door project.Period!

  14. He has no right whatsoever to collect any blood samples from door to door…Zambian s wake up from your docility ask the minister who is funding this scheme…remember what was happening in the 80s when Boers were infecting people with the HIV virus under the pretext of curing and checking. This needs to challenged where are the NGOs.

  15. It is no longer voluntary when you come to my door step to test my blood, it is voluntary when I myself out of free will go to the testing center to have my blood tested.

  16. Forced blood donation….Y are you taking away my right to refuse imwe ba mambala. You must be the first country in Africa to do this. STOP iT NOW!!

  17. Mr Chitalu Chilufya, when I listen to you, something is very much not adding up, okey their is the issue of gassing a alleged collection of blood from gassed people, but Zambians have teamed up to repel these blood suckers although in some instances they are doing it with impunity, Then you come up first with Blood for threats (15 years imprisonment for failure to comply) formula which Zambians reject, then you change to Blood for Cash formula which has now temporarily been shelved to wait for the dust to settle.
    NOW ANSWER THIS QUESTION, YOU CLAIM THAT YOUR TARGET IS 35000 PEOPLE RIGHT?
    THEN YOU INFORM US THAT ACCORDING TO AVAILABLE DATA YOU HAVE 1.2 MILLION (ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND) PEOPLE ALREADY ACTIVELY ON ART ( ANTI RETEROVIROL THERAPY) RIGHT?
    MY QUESTION IS “WHY…

  18. MY QUESTION IS WHY DON’T YOU TAKE YOUR 35000 SAMPLE FROM THE ALREADY AVAILABLE 1.2 MILLION AND YOU WILL STILL REMAIN WITH A REMAINDER OF 1.1 MILLION FOR FURTHER SAMPLING??? TELL US SO THAT WE KNOW??????!!!!!!!

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