SADC make VCT for HIV/AIDS available in rural areas

Mathews Liyani

Governments in the whole Southern African Developing Community (SADC) region should make Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV/AIDS available in all rural areas.
Speaking after the discussion on “Traditional leaders and Good Governance,” which was being led by Women for Change (WfC) from Zambia, WfC Acting Executive Director, Lameck Simwanza said most rural areas in the SADC region had no VCT centres and other basic facilities.
“When you talk about HIV/AIDS, it’s a health issue, which is a basic right. All human beings are entitled to this right and there is need for governments to respect it by providing facilities such as VCT centres close to people,” he said.
Simwanza further urged the people that attended the Southern Africa Social Forum (SASF) to continue advocating for pro-poor policies.
He said there was need for the SADC countries to come up with their own policies aimed at empowering every human being in the region.
Simwanza also reminded governments in the region that the role of NGOs was not to provide services but to supplement on what government was doing.
“It is governments' role to provide basic things among others. So they shouldn’t transfer the burden to NGOs, they should take responsibility,” he said.
He said there was need for people to unite and demand for their basic rights.
Meanwhile, traditional leaders from Zambia have urged governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to intensify the HIV/AIDS sensitisation among the youths.
Chief Nzamane from Eastern Province of Zambia said that a lot of youths were denied access to HIV/AIDS information, which was their right. “Apart from just giving them information, we should come up with new strategies that can be effective in the fight of HIV/AIDS,” he said.
Chief Mushili said there was need for behavioural change if we have to combat HIV/AIDS.He said a lot of people had information on HIV/AIDS but fail to change their behaviour. He suggested that the messages on HIV/AIDS should now concentrate on behaviour change.
Speaking on the involvement of traditional leaders in governance, Chief Nalubamba said there was need to let the chiefs participate actively in politics, as they were politicians by nature of them being chiefs. Chief Nalubamba was referring to the Zambian situation, where chiefs are prohibited from participating in active politics.
He said there was also need for the chiefs and governments to work together in developing communities. He said governments in the SADC region would not develop, especially in rural areas, if chiefs were left out as they were close to the people.