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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Heather Kapenga

Heather Kapenga

Agencies Step in to Address HIV/Aids in Prisons. - 0 views

  • Prisoners are rendered vulnerable due to overcrowding, poor nutrition, limited access to healthcare, injecting drug use, unsafe sex and tattooing, according to government officials and NGOs. According to the Zambia Prisons Service (ZPS), last year about 450 inmates in the 52 prisons across the country died from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.
  • Having identified the challenges and problems posed by the pandemic, the ZPS was developing an HIV/AIDS policy with a range of prevention measures to address the pandemic among inmates, officers and their families, and working with a number of stakeholders to sensitise prisoners to the dangers of HIV/AIDS
  • A project run in collaboration with the Copperbelt University (CBU) clinic has paid some dividends: the 'In But Free' (IBF) programme, which implies that prisoners can be in jail but free from disease, provides inmates with information on how to protect themselves. 'In But Free' teaches prisoners to avoid contracting the disease by not sharing razor blades, and about the dangers of sexual intercourse. "They are also taught how to live positively if they are already infected
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  • Some officials have also been trained to provide psychosocial counseling, and inmates have enrolled as peer educators to disseminate information on HIV/AIDS.
  • The Community Responses to HIV/AIDS (CRAIDS), a component of the Zambia National Response to HIV/AIDS, recently launched a primary healthcare project for prisoners to tackle the pandemic at the Mukobeko Maximum Prisons in Kabwe, the administrative capital of Zambia's Central Province
  • PFZ also conducts weekly mobile clinics in Copperbelt prisons and has formed support groups for positive living.
  • The ZPS and CRAIDS welcomed the government's provision of free ARVs to the prisoners.
  • The Prisons Fellowship of Zambia (PFZ), a prisoner rehabilitation programme operating in 40 jails in the country, recommended that ARVs be provided.
  • PFZ uses a community-based health approach in providing health information and medical services to inmates with the help of volunteer care groups, clinical officers and as peer educators.
  • CRAIDS has trained some prison officers and inmates in home-based care, and has recommended that prisoners should have access to HIV/AIDS education, care and treatment, and cleaning materials such as bleach.
    • Heather Kapenga
       
      Reaction: I was pretty surprised to read that 450 prisoners in 52 jails in Zambia died of HIV/AIDS. It was also interesting to read about some of the ways how prison programs in Zambia have tried to help those who are infected with HIV/AIDS by providing these people with healthcare, ARVs, and counseling as well as also having programs like the "In But Free" programs to help those who have not been infected by HIV/AIDS protect them from being infected by giving them information on this disease and things they can do to prevent themselves from being infected by HIV/AIDS. Questions:1. Are there other things or programs that the jails in Zambia can have to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS?2. Could they allow medications in prisons for those suffering from HIV/AIDS?3. How well will these programs help these inmates who have or don't have HIV/AIDS?
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    Research Question: What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia? Citation: "Agencies Step in to Address HIV/Aids in Prisons." Africa News Service 5 Sept. 2005. Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Summary: The summary of this article is about those in Zambia who are in prison and are either already infected by HIV/AIDS before they came to jail or while they are in jail. It explains how people in jail can get infected by the disease by doing things like poor nutrition, injecting themselves with drugs, and having unsafe sex. The ZPS (Zambian Prisons Service) has come up with ways for those infected by HIV/AIDS to help these people by doing things like providing these people with healthcare. Also CBU (Copperbelt University) has developed a program called "In But Free" which is a prevention policy that teaches inmates information on prevention from HIV/AIDS and information on how to protect themselves from being infected by HIV/AIDS. Plus the PFZ (Prisons Fellowship of Zambia) has a prisoners rehabilitation program in 40 jails in the country which allows ARVs as well as counseling for those who are infected with HIV/AIDS.
Heather Kapenga

Now SACCORD Seeks to Resolve HIV/Aids Conflict. - 0 views

  • However, for the Southern African Centre for Conflict Resolutions of Disputes (SACCORD), political leaders could be key in helping to mitigate the effects of this pandemic.
  • He observed that what killed people infected with the HIV/AIDS was not the disease itself alone but the attitude that people cast on such patients.
  • Habasonda said it was sad that stigma had reached high levels - extents where people got depressed and died because no one took the interest to take care of them.
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  • "It is high time that we mobilised the much needed political will so we mitigate the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This disease is dangerous and unless we act now, it will wipe us all out," he said.
  • Habasonda said HIV/AIDS should not remain within the bounds social issue but it should be mainstreamed in political circles for the fight to be won.
  • He said it was sad that access to anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy was almost impossible in some constituencies that his organisation had taken a pilot project to sensitize people on the dangers of the pandemic.
  • Habasonda said voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) centres were other facilities that were not available in remote areas. He said the issue of CD4 count machines was worrying and Government should address it.
  • It is apparent that all the arguments by these learned colleagues point but to one aspect, the need by lawmakers and the Government in particular to redouble efforts in fighting the pandemic. HIV/AIDS is not a health problem, but the most serious socio-economic problem that Zambia, indeed Africa has ever faced
    • Heather Kapenga
       
      Reaction: I was actually pretty surprised to read that there were people that were not dying from complications of HIV/AIDS but, instead there are those that are dying from being so depressed about having HIV/AIDS because of the attitude the people placed on them for being infected with HIV/AIDS. This relates to my research question because the SACCORD realizes how big an effect this HIV/AIDS epidemic has been in Zambia and they want to work with the Government to come up with ways that they can help with those who are suffering from this disease and for those who are dying of depression because they have HIV/AIDS. Questions:1. Besides trying to get therapy and counseling in Zambia is there anything else that the Government and SACCORD can do to help those who are suffering from complications of HIV/AIDS?2. What if therapy and counseling doesn't help those who have depression and many people still take their lives? What will the Government and SACCORD do then?3. Will therapy and counseling really help these people or not?
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    Research Question: What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia? Citation: "Now SACCORD Seeks to Resolve HIV/Aids Conflict." Africa News Service 12 Aug. 2005. Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Summary: The summary of this article is that SACCORD (Southern African Centre for Conflict Resolutions of Dispute) political leaders want to try and help those in Zambia who have been infected by HIV/AIDS and did a one day workshop in Zambia and they found out that there were people who were not only dying from complications of HIV/AIDS but there were also people dying from the attitude people had on them which led those people to become depressed and died. SACCORD wants to team up with the Government and come up with ways that they can help these people not only emotionally but physically as well. That's why SACCORD wants to try and get therapy and counseling in Zambia for those who have HIV/AIDS so that it can help those who are depressed from becoming dead and the HIV/AIDS epidemic wiping out all of Zambia.
Heather Kapenga

Misconception And Myths Surrounding ARVs. - 0 views

  • Despite all the efforts by scientists all over the world to find the cure for AIDS, all what they can boast of is the invasion of the anti-retroviral drugs, ARVs as they are commonly known. They are not a cure for AIDS but have proved to be the best option to prolong the lifespan of HIV infected people.
  • Realising the important role that these drugs play in helping people living with AIDS live longer, the Government subsidised the price of these drugs for poor people to easily access them.
  • the Government embarked on an ambitious programme to put about 100,000 HIV patients on ARVs, which target was however, not met.
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  • Many people have talked strongly against the drugs and are championing calls for the stoppage of administering the drugs.
  • A survey conducted revealed that the majority were against the use of the drugs because they made people gain weight and that the medicine was an instant killer.
  • A strong myth of curing HIV/AIDS by having sex with minors has also cast a dark shadow on the Zambian community as the country has been rocked with cases of defilement and rape in the recent past. This has in a way helped the spread of HIV/AIDS.
  • Further, some people still believe that the drugs change the complexion of a person and make them lose their tempers easily with others thinking that the drug make someone's body swollen.
  • The drugs do not cure HIV/AIDS and have their guidelines that need to be followed at all costs if the drugs were to work normally and avoid complications.
  • Unlike some medicines that can be taken inconsistently without causing major side effects, ARVs can be dangerous and in extreme cases fatal if inconsistently and incorrectly taken.
  • And because of this failure to adhere to their use, the drug have been described as a danger to the human life. Some people have shunned treatment while others have remained reluctant to seek treatment for fear of the misconceptions.
  • A further survey, however, revealed that mostly, the negative attitude towards the drugs was due to the misconception and myths surrounding these drugs.
  • It is for this reason that the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) recently organised a three day media workshop on ARVs in its continued effort to educate media practitioners and the general public on the advantages of ARVs.
  • "Once the media people know exactly how the ARVs work, their side effects and the benefits of taking the drugs, they would be able to correctly inform the public on the goodness of the drugs"
  • Apart from improving the health of an infected person, ARVs were invented to reduce the amount of HIV virus in the body and support the immune system to enable it fight the virus.
  • The ARVs are generally there to help the infected persons live longer.
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    Research Question: What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia? Citation: "Misconception And Myths Surrounding ARVs." Africa News Service 26 June 2006. Student Edition. Web. 8 Mar. 2011 Summary: This article explains how in Zambia doctors are trying a new drug called ARVs. However, the people in Zambia are complaining about the major side effects that this drug does such as gaining weight, easily loosing their tempers, and even death. The people in Zambia want the drug to be dis-continued but, scientists argue saying that the drug is meant for people living with HIV/AIDS to live longer but will not heal them from HIV/AIDS. In fact the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) organized a 3 day media workshop to show that the drug is effective and will not have those major side effects if used properly.
Heather Kapenga

Zambian doctors call for research into HIV/AIDS herbal remedies. - 0 views

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    Research Question: What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia? Citation: "Zambian doctors call for research into HIV/AIDS herbal remedies." Xinhua News Agency 20 Aug. 2007. Student Edition. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary: This article explains how in Zambia the Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) has decided to do some research on trying herbal remedies to help treat those suffering from HIV/AIDS then the traditional medicine they have been using. However  with the shortage of doctors in Zambia there has been less research being done on herbal medicines as well as with traditional medicines and without this research this may cause sever consequences.
Heather Kapenga

NGOCC Laments HIV/Aids Effects On Women. - 0 views

  • COMTEX) -- THE Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has said the HIV/AIDS pandemic has continued to have an adverse impact on women both in terms of infection and the burden of care giving.
    • Heather Kapenga
       
      Reaction: I was very surprised to find that women in Zambia are more infected by HIV/AIDS than men and how up to 4.9% of women are affected more by HIV/AIDS than men. I was also aware about how women would be caretakers but, I was not expecting around 90%. A couple ways they said that they can have less women end up with HIV/AIDS is for men to also do their part in taking care of those infected by the disease which should help decrease the amount of women affected by HIV/AIDS. Also to have more food provided as well should help those infected by HIV/AIDS. Questions:1. Will this solution really resolve less women from being affected by HIV/AIDS?2. Won''t men helping out HIV patients also get them more likely to be infected with HIV too?3. How can nutritious food help prevent someone from being infected by HIV?
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    Research Question: What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia Citation: "NGOCC Laments HIV/Aids Effects On Women." Africa News Service 9 Mar. 2009. Student Edition. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. Summary: This article tells about the effect of HIV/AIDS in Zambia and how this is affecting the women in Zambia. It also mentions how women are more likely to end up with HIV/AIDS than men. Around 17.8% of women end up with HIV/AIDS compared to men who have 12.9% infected with HIV/AIDS. Plus it mentions a few ways on how they can prevent more and more women from being affected by HIV/AIDS.
Heather Kapenga

Zambia's HIV infection rates up. - 0 views

  • The country's National AIDS Council (NAC) said the rate of new HIV infection rose from 70, 000 in 2007 to 82, 000 this year.
  • 79 percent of the new infections were resulted from active people having sex with non-regular partners.
  • Zambia's Interfaith Networking Group on HIV/AIDS, an organization embracing all religions, said there was need to spread latest information on new infections to sustain prevention among young people, adding that the organization was committed to ensuring that the southern African country remains free from HIV/ AIDS by 2015.
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  • the unprecedented number of new infections had resulted in an increase in orphans and vulnerable children, pledging that the government and cooperating partners will consider increasing budgetary support in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
  • Zambia's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate currently stands at 14.3 percent among people aged between 15 and 49.
  • COPYRIGHT 2009 COMTEX News Network, Inc. LUSAKA, Dec 02, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Zambia
    • Heather Kapenga
       
      Reflection: I was very surprised by how huge these numbers are of people in Zambia who are affected by HIV/AIDS and how 82,000 people this year are affected by it. I was also surprised to read about how up to 79% of people in Zambia are infected with AIDS by having affairs and that you would think they would not do this so they do not end up being infected with AIDS and passing it down to their children right away from birth. This article contributes to my research question because, it gives out facts about how many people are affected by AIDS and how that affects them and their children and how they would like to put an end to this epidemic before this disease keeps passing on.Questions:1. Why do these people continue to be infected by HIV/AIDS when they can put a stop to it by not being sexually active?2. Are there any other ways to prevent these people from being infected by HIV/AIDS?3.Why would it take up to 2015 for southern African countries to become HIV/AIDS free?
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    Research Question: What is the effect of AIDS/HIV in Zambia? Citation: "Zambia's HIV infection rates up." Xinhua News Agency 2 Dec. 2009. Student Edition. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. Summary: The National AIDS Council (NAC) says that the rate of  the HIV infection has increased dramatically from 70,000 people to 82,000 people in Zambia. Also there is an epidemic of up to 79% of people who are being infected by HIV by having affairs. Plus Zambia's Interfaith Networking Group on HIV/AIDS ensured that souther African countries to remain AIDS free by 2015. Finally the current rate of people in Zambia affected by HIV/AIDS is at 14.3% for people between the ages of 15 and 49.
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