 What does it take to care for an Aids patient? |
As the latest international Aids conference opens in Bangkok, Thailand, from 11-16 July, nobody disputes the devastating toll HIV and Aids has had on individuals and families. But is there now a danger that the situation has become so overwhelming that Aids fatigue has set in? An estimated 25 million people are living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the latest report from UNAids, over two million people in Africa died last year, amounting to three-quarters of all the three million Aids-related deaths worldwide. But as the infection keeps rising and more and more people keep dying, have we got to a stage where people just do not want to hear anymore? Are you tired of hearing the same old warning messages about HIV and Aids? What would make you sit up and listen? And what about the other aspect of Aids fatigue? Recent reports have revealed cases where families are struggling with the burden of looking after a relative sick with Aids. What's your experience, as a carer and a patient? This debate is now closed. Read a section of your comments below.
Of course we are fed of hearing about HIV/AIDS. Why don't people dying from cancer or heart attack for example get as much press or attention? Africa is not dying of AIDS any more than the US is dying of obesity.
Mike Kamara, Sierra Leone Why is it that every time BBC talks about AIDS they put a photograph of a black person? Are you trying to portray AIDS as a disease of black people?
Malka Makalanyani, South Africa I believe that there is nothing more powerful than telling personal stories. Reporting information about this epidemic is helpful, but telling stories of our brothers and sisters who are victims of this epidemic could be used as a tool to warn and teach others to protect themselves.
Teddy, Ethiopia, California  |  There is "AIDS FATIGUE" due to the overload of information.  |
I agree that there is "AIDS FATIGUE" due to the overload of information. Judging from the fact that most people know much about AIDS prevention and treatment but still there is little change in behavioural patterns warrants a change of strategy. I believe the answer is returning to Biblical principles and teachings about the sanctity of marriage and sexual relations.
Mendy Kilpin, UK The story of Aids-related death is a story of people dying not just due to careless living but more importantly due to grinding poverty and quite unfortunately poverty does not have medical cure but rather political cure. As it is now what cannot be cured medically can be cured politically and that is where the battle must be fought.
Celestine Osimhen, Nigeria I need to learn about HIV/AIDS from a person living with the virus.
Befekadu Ayele, Ethiopia People are dying more of malaria and waterborne diseases that they find it cynical hearing much about AIDS. Yes AIDS is a danger but most of the AIDS statistics come from cooked data. Over 80% of our populations have no medical records anywhere and they usually attend traditional healers' dispensaries.
Issaya Ernest Tabagi, Tanzania We cannot afford to have AIDS fatigue but we certainly do have message fatigue. Imagine being told the same thing over and over again for 20 years, no creativity, no positivity, just the same old tired "moralism". Even worse this moralism is expensive, stigmatising and misleading.
Richard Mabala, Tanzania It depends on where you live. In sub-saharan Africa you cannot get AIDS fatigue. Chances are that you have or will nurse someone to their death at some point in your life. That experience doesn't leave you.
Chibale, Zambia People who are suffering from Aids experience a different kind of fatigue. We should worry about the insidious sense of helplessness that is prevalent among Aids patients and those who take care of them. The Aids fatigue you are talking about is very much a function of the resignation that comes with our sheer obsession with figures and numbers. I say bring it on! This kind of fatigue is a luxury I can afford!
Sos, Ethiopia I don't think anyone should have AIDS fatigue because this is a serious illness that is erasing our future. People need to practice safe sex and stop trusting their partners until they are both tested.
Eleanor Hill, US Being married to a Ugandan infected with HIV, we both feel it's more important than ever to keep passing the message to young girls. It took my wife several years to explain to me about her HIV status. In Uganda, even educated women still feel they cannot tell family members or friends about their status because of fear of being sidelined by society. But since we came to Europe, my wife has started fighting this fear among Uganda's women. My wife and I have agreed to continue using condoms, but keeping intercourse to a minimum because of her worries of infection.
Einhard Engelbrecht, Uganda/Netheralnds More effort should be paid to Malaria that is ravaging the population than the much talked about AIDS.
Boban chris, Cameroon It is the media coverage of the HIV/Aids pandemic that weakens people's immune systems by raising the anxieties of victims. Yet there is overwhelming evidence that some people have lived with HIV for more than 20 years even without medication.
Jalisi, SA The culture of silence in Malawi is what is killing the nation. Up to now not many can stand up and say their father, mother or other relative died from Aids. Messages, yes very important, but not threats. People are tired of hearing messages like AIDS KILLS!!, give us more on what we should do when we have a relative suffering from AIDS.
Dumisani Haukeya, Malawi | Sometimes statistics on HIV are exaggerated purposely to serve individual motives. |
Too many organisations are trying to deliver the message on HIV in Africa. Unfortunately, sometimes they give conflicting messages, the Catholic Church's position on the use of condoms being one example. Sometimes statistics on HIV are exaggerated purposely to serve individual motives. Such figures demoralise people in the fight against HIV/AIDS and tend not to care anymore since they perceive the efforts as doomed to failure.
Wesley Nsomba, Tanzania News of AIDS, poverty and death, as well as images of walking skeletons have become so common and consistent that they no longer strike as shocking and real. Rather they have helped in emphasising ignorant Western stereotypes about the Third World. AIDS is a universal disease, not confined to the jungles and mud huts of poor nations.
Sophie Efange, Ethiopia/Cameroon It is quite pointless to direct questions about Africa on the Internet. The average person posting an answer is an expat living either in some Western world. The BBC should either do interviews through correspondents in Africa, or phrase the questions in a way that reflects who the intended audience is.
Joseph, USA It is not all about hearing messages or warnings about HIV and AIDS. What matters is the practicability. How many members of the public are genuinely abiding by the medical advices? The bottom line is HIV and AIDS will never be put under control in Africa until we bid poverty bye.
Fidelis Mbah, Abuja, Nigeria I am tired of hearing that unprotected sex is the cause of Aids and the use of condoms will stop it. What about immorality,hunger and drugs being major players in the spread of the disease?
Hajir, Sweden | HIV education is designed without taking into consideration the cultural and social lifestyles of the intended targets. |
It is clear that the HIV-Aids education is not having any significant impact in the sub-Saharan Africa. The truth is, the approach and the strategy employed is fundamentally wrong. HIV education is designed without taking into consideration the cultural and social lifestyles of the intended targets.
Kofi Kukubor, UK I had two aunts who died very young, but no one would ever say they died of AIDS, even though it was so obvious. An uncle's wife died, but they say it's witchcraft. She left a young girl who is very sick now with obvious signs of AIDS, but no-one will take her for testing, because they all think it's witchcraft. My hope is more education about the disease will lead people to believe it's real.
Rumbi, Zimbabwean living in USA When I was a little girl, my mother brought a couple of Aids posters home. I did not know what Aids was then. So, I used the poster to wrap all my textbook and school books. None of my classmates wanted to touch my books. Now I know why. I am 19 years old and I would never wrap my college textbooks in Aids posters.
Sade, Lagos, Nigeria People need to keep hearing about AIDS especially in privileged countries where they have not been touched by AIDS. We need to keep talking about AIDS until everyone knows about it and until something is done about it.
Lisa F, Nigerian in the USA As a journalist, combined with my desire to see the disease eradicated, I would hope that efforts be made to find a permanent treatment to save millions of people who continue to lose their lives.
Winston Monboe, Liberia My family has lost SEVEN members in the last 18 months One of them was my brother's wife. My brother is known to be positive. He gets ill regularly. Yet he has girlfriends and girlfriends have him. Protection is still seen as putting a barrier between you and the partner you love, so most women still take their chances. Most lose.
Gonzo j Moyo, Harare Zimbabwe My wife and I have both tested HIV negative. However, over the last seven years, we have had to bear the cost, time and space of nursing close HIV positive patients in our home, some of whom have passed on. We look after and support orphans from the deceased relatives. The point is because poverty is so high, I am afraid it is robbing so many young people like us the freedom to enjoy young, private blissful lives.
Gabriel, Lusaka, Zambia The only things I am enthusiastic to listen about Aids are any positive developments. I read reports that indicate hope in the fight as well as medication of Aids. Those of you, who are reporting about Aids, please reflect hope in your messages.
Hailu, Ethiopia/Netherlands HIV/AIDS has been so overwhelming that Aids fatigue is humanly unlikely. In the 1980s, people could sit in their isolated corners and make a mockery of Aids. Now the situation is different. The epidemic has eaten into the bones of virtually every single family. Aids fatigue would be a sign of resignation, it is not an answer and will never be an answer. Let's continue the talk.
Nji , Bamenda, Cameroon The overplay by Western media organisations of the threat of the HIV/AIDS disease is suspect. The method used in US laboratories differs from that used in Africa. Our problem in Africa is poverty which, when it becomes intolerable, weakens the immune system.
Cyril A.C. Jengo, Freetown, Sierra Leone
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