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MUGABE Orders Door-To-Door HIV Testing For ZIMBABWEANS
ZIMBABWE President ROBERT MUGABE’s government has unveiled new plans to have each Zimbabwean getting tested For HIV/AIDS countrywide.
Health Minister Henry Madzorera has unveiled controversial new plans for door-to-door HIV testing countrywide.
Madzorera said Wednesday his ministry is training thousands of volunteers who will knock on doors, test and counsel people in their homes.
He insists taking the tests would be voluntary, amid concerns by rights groups that the programme infringes on people’s privacy.
Tapuwa Magure, the chief executive officer of the state-run National Aids Council, said his organisation had made an input to the controversial programme expected to start within months.
Magure said an NGO called Total Control of the Epidemic had already carried out door-to-door testing in two districts in Mashonaland Central with little resistance from locals.
He told the Voice of America’s Studio 7: “The benefits of knowing one’s HIV status are very immense because once you know your status, if you are positive, you can now access further care.
“How it will work is that people will come to your home and talk about the benefits of knowing your HIV status and offer you an HIV test.
“If you want to be tested, you can go ahead and be tested in the normal private and confidential way, but if you decline the volunteers will continue to educate and encourage you to go for testing.
“Privacy and confidentiality will be the cornerstones of this campaign.”
According to Zimbabwe media, Madzorera said the programme came out of a desire to make testing and life-saving HIV treatment accessible to people countrywide.
While lauding the plan, HIV consultant Monica Mandiki warned that the programme could run into trouble if volunteers were not properly remunerated.
She said: “What we have seen is that door-to-door campaigns and programmes are very effective because one is able to discuss with an individual in their own home environment where they are comfortable and can open up.
“But there are several challenges, like who is going to volunteer to do this work for the ministry? How do you remunerate a volunteer?
“Zimbabwe is a low resourced country. We are saying if people don’t have resources, how much time do they have to go door-to-door? And to expect them to do long distances doing voluntary work I think is expecting too much, it doesn’t work quite well for people that don’t have resources and are struggling to survive.
Posted by
Thomas Tembo
January 19, 2012 at 10:04 pm
That’s a good idea considering the tests will still be voluntarily done..
Zed 2:1 SENEGAL
January 19, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Bad idea, pipo wil hear neighbors cry and stigma starts from there.
Analyst
January 19, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Any news we here from Zim. Are all sex scandles,i think Mugabe is very ashamed so he want to settle this once and 4all. Let him start first.
Manje bashikulu ba Sata ngabalanda ati even in Zambian we do ka house to house ma ma ma ma kuti kwaba National morning.
chumbu munshololwa
January 19, 2012 at 10:26 pm
iliko tricky panono! chances are that volunteers wil be chased with dogs!
legend of the orator
January 19, 2012 at 11:10 pm
evn pa zed we shud do ths.
Bitter
January 19, 2012 at 11:12 pm
We hope this is not after burying alive those who will be tested postive.
Munene
January 19, 2012 at 11:15 pm
This good mind you Zambia started door to door many years ago in Mazabuka and Moze their is a total control of the epidemic TCE who are doing door and they started in 2007. Its gud idea and effectively to have more people now their HIV status. Their is high quality of the service
I believe more countries are learning from Zambia if am not mistaken
Munene
January 19, 2012 at 11:21 pm
The media has not done enough to talk more about door to door their more organisations in Zambia offering that like CHAMP. But we need door to door sensitasation and testing in big cities like lusaka too. We need to mobilise the resources
Ndodo
January 19, 2012 at 11:50 pm
@ munene u right, am one of the volunteers who used to conduct door to door vct. Its a gud idea.
Kapoli
January 20, 2012 at 12:21 am
Ok Zim Zim should Also copy our corruption fight starting from Bob himself.
Wise youth
January 20, 2012 at 12:47 am
Gudluck…….
Chisokoneeeee!
January 20, 2012 at 12:50 am
Mugabe is a mad dictator. No sane leadershould emulate him. He has become mad because of overstaying in power. Thank God KK is not like him. We Zambians are really lucky!
Air Mukwai_
January 20, 2012 at 3:16 am
Is aids/hiv linked to poverty, ethnic groups or places? …..
ndikalombwana kachende
January 20, 2012 at 5:49 am
Mugabe is a sh**** dictator who needs a bullet.how can he give people what they don’t want instead of food.people are starving ,instead of paying those councillors he should buy maize for his people.
zolila
January 20, 2012 at 7:20 am
Many pipo to day live wit hiv/aids en stil go on infectn others.its highest between 15 to 39yrs in underdevloped countries.high sch en tetiary r most at risk pipo do live evn after 3months of knwg each otha.testn iliche hiv doesn’t kill ther en then u r capable of livn a normal life wit improvd medical services.many r living wit it en dnt want to test.
zolila
January 20, 2012 at 7:55 am
Pipo who r close r most infectious.speaking frm xperience wat v cn girls wil hit out wit a sick big man infect the young boyfriend oso a student who wil infect others as we’ll.ama live as long as ni gelo wobe evn wen ur barely 1month test en protect ur selves ba guy if it has come let it come.benda namalwele elo ba gelo ba kama
Musekawalya
January 20, 2012 at 8:18 am
I just hop they ar not trying 2 find a way of turning it into “Mandatory Counselling & Testing(MCT).” If there is no hidden agenda to this, well, i think we can give de exercise a benefit of doubt, since clients wil stil retain de powers of deciding whether 2 go 4 it or not- it wil stil b voluntary.
spin
January 20, 2012 at 8:27 am
bat iyi yena pa zed ni mo business for lawyers drafting wills and amending them
tombist
January 20, 2012 at 8:37 am
People disgruntled with results may start spreading HIV indiscriminately.
HIV
January 20, 2012 at 8:43 am
Sometimes I feel certain things require a bit of force to be achieved.How many times,how long and what more is the media going to say and do for the sake of the listening members of the community.Is it not the same people that say we are fade up?
For me whether this steps on peoples rights or not at the end of the day it will benefit them and the nation at large in proper planning.
I believe Mugabe has every good reason for such.
Go ahead Comrade.
Nchima Manuel
January 20, 2012 at 8:53 am
If u believe in the fight n has had relatives who had suffered terribly before they died u would support this idea.
MUNYELO PWETE!
January 20, 2012 at 9:33 am
ABENA NGOSHE KULUPAKO, ANY COMMENT?
Shameless
January 20, 2012 at 9:35 am
Mandatory or voluntary, it’s still a good cause. Go ahead Bob while we wait for Sata.
Good news
Sando
January 20, 2012 at 10:29 am
Hats off uncle Bob. Good move. Presedo Sata learn from your pal and implement this in Zed.Start from Parliament house, all MP’s and all workers at parliament motel.
Phebby Chiwama SA
January 20, 2012 at 10:43 am
The way Zimbabeans love sex i think a good number of them are HIV positive. nivodwala
THE ONLY LIVING JAY
January 20, 2012 at 11:38 am
Phebby Chiwama SA; I don’t know about “the way Zimbabeans love sex”, but be informed that sex haz a lot of benefits. Just google “sex benefits” and you will be amazed at what you’ll learn.
sadi
January 20, 2012 at 12:24 pm
If its voluntary then thats fine however, mandatory testing might send some pipo to early graves in the event that the results are positive and just cant accept the outcome. Some might be depressed while others would resort to commiting suicide. I hope they have best counsellors.
Ayatollah
January 20, 2012 at 2:06 pm
In 2009 the door to door campaign was also conducted in Chipata compound, Lusaka. At first the response was poor, but later it improved. Maybe if the program were sustained by now most residents could’ve done it.It’s the lack of knowledge that draws different reactions, especially negative ones, from various quarters. Ironically, even some peer educators have not done the test themselves but go to encourage others to do it. The fact is if you are infected, the test will not change anything. It’s how you react to the realisation that you have it. Testing is now mandatory for expecting mothers tha attend ante-natal. This is to present mother to child transmission in case the mother is infected.
Rio
January 20, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Experts think this is the way to go in dealing with HIV!
Former volunteer of TCE NGO
January 20, 2012 at 5:38 pm
Unbelievable (but totally predictable) that an ‘NGO’ (that is completely 110% FOR profit) as corrupt as Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE) and Mugabe are so intertwined in the Empire they’re creating.
I worked in these countries doing VCT for TCE and most if not all these volunteers (who you’re right will not ever be properly remunerated) are not properly trained to give an HIV+ diagnosis.
If anything, this is a cautionary tale to Zimbabwean residents to beware of the capabilities that could unfold in a country with those 2 entities/empires in power.
pam fritzler
January 21, 2012 at 6:13 am
I would like to interview you. Please let me know how to reach you. I am aware of what you report and have some things to add. Thank you for your candor.
THE SAINT
January 22, 2012 at 11:21 am
At last a government has taken the right steps against this disease. Had we done this in 1988 there would have been no pandemic!
Ready 4 Marriage
January 22, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Not good for people like me. i will never go for VCT my entire life. i will nkow my status on judgement day
Mike Durham
January 24, 2012 at 11:16 am
Former Volunteer of TCE NGO – I would really like to get in touch with you! I agree wholeheartedly with what you say, and we’d like to know more. Please could you send a message to us at Tvind Alert – tvindalert.feedback (at) gmail.com. Thanks!
wilfred
July 11, 2012 at 9:11 pm
i gues its a good idea becouse its important to know ones status.