Rein in medics revealing the hiv status of patients

Tanzania is credited for being among countries in Africa that have done commendably well in controlling the HIV/Aids pandemic, a scourge that, 35 years after it was first diagnosed in the US, remains without cure. In Tanzania, the first cases of the disease were recorded in 1983.

Records show that in 2013, the country had 72,000 cases of new HIV infections, while 78,000 died of Aids-related complications. Come 2015 and there were 54,000 new infections and 36,000 Aids-related deaths.

Of course, the number of people living with the virus has been going up, from 1.4 million in 2013 to 4.7 million in 2015, but over 50,000 were on anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), the life-prolonging drugs that greatly improve the quality of life of people living with HIV.

Surveys show that close to 100 per cent of adult Tanzanians are aware that HIV/Aids is for real, for in any case, there can only be a few, if any families, that haven’t lost a loved one to the disease.

The good news, which earns kudos for the country’s health policy, is that HIV/Aids screening as well as the prerequisite counselling before and after the screening and ARVs are free in all government-run health facilities.

Now despite all the progress that Tanzania has so far made in the fight against the scourge, we still have challenges that counter the gains. The most serious one is stigma, for there are those among our people, including—sadly—medical personnel, who treat carriers of the virus as pariahs—persons to be chastised and even avoided! That is wrong.

Bad language

That is why we find it most appropriate the warning issued by the acting Shinyanga regional medical officer against medical personnel who use bad language while attending to HIV/Aids patients.

There has also been a tendency of some medical staff to disclose the HIV status of those they attend, something that is forcing disappointed patients to stop going for ARVs.

The regional medical chief, Dr Nuru Mpuya, reminded newly recruited medical staff, including nursing officers, clinical officers, pharmacists and laboratory technicians, that exposing health status of patients was a habit that goes against professional ethics.

The significance of the confidentiality between a patient and the health carer becomes even more critical in HIV/Aids cases, for sufferers are by and large still stigmatised by sections of our communities.

Indeed, Dr Mpuya attributes the reported high rate of infection in the region to stigmatisation. Once a patient withdraws into their cocoon due to stigma, it is easy for them to suffer from depression, a situation that could lead to lowered immunity which, needless to say, puts to further danger a person who has been diagnosed with HIV.

The disturbing conduct of some health workers in Shinyanga cannot be unique to this region. Cases of abusive language and harsh treatment of expectant mothers in maternity wings have been reported countrywide, and we aver that medics with such a tendency cannot be averse to being scornful towards people living with HIV/Aids.

It means that HIV/Aids awareness campaigns, contrary to common belief, shouldn’t only target laymen; those in the medical profession should be brought into focus too.