According to national statistics, Iringa Region is shown as having the highest percentage at 15.7, followed by Dar es Salaam 9.3, Mbeya 9.2 and Mara 7.7,
The statistics show that although Mara Region is the fourth region in the country according to HIV/AIDS percentage, the region has the highest infection rate annually.
It has been indicated that during the year 2003/04, Mara Region had 3.5 percent of HIV/AIDS infection but up to 2008/09 the percentage had increased from 3.5 to 7.7; a rate which is the highest as compared to other regions in the country.
According to Coordinator of HIV/AIDS Control Program in Mara Region Dr. Hulda Lugoe says that if the region continues to depend on donors in combating this high HIV/AIDS infection speed, there is impending danger that the government may not be able to cope with distribution of ARV drugs to the demanding victims of the endemic.
Dr. Lugoe said this in Musoma during inauguration of a home based care program known as KAYA CCI under sponsorship of an American NGO known as Africare.
She said the spread of infection of HIV/AIDS in Mara Region at present is frightening as it has risen from 3.5 percent in the year 2004 up to 7.7 percent last year at an annual rate which is alarmingly high when compared to other regions in the country and that the fast spread can be attributed to several factors.
Among the factors that contribute to fast spread of HIV/AIDS infection in Mara Region is traditional myths practiced by some tribes within the Region including non-circumcision of men, inheriting widows (for cleansing/removal of bad omen) and abject poverty. Mining activities, fishing and petty trading along the Sirari - Musoma – Mwanza highway also contribute to high spread of HIV/AIDS in the region.
According to the said Coordinator, the leading district in HIV/AIDS infection in Mara Region, is the newly established Rorya District with 15%, followed by Musoma Urban 10%, Musoma Rural 6.4%, Tarime 6%, Bunda 4.8% and Serengeti 4%.
The situation in Rorya has been getting worse every other day due to traditional beliefs where men do not get circumcised while the community keeps on maintaining outdated practices like cleansing a woman after the death of her husband whereby a relative or neighbour may make love to her; an act which is believed to remove bad luck that has befallen the family.
However, she said the increase of HIV/AIDS infection in Musoma Urban is a result of high influx of people moving into the Municipality from different areas of the region as Musoma is the administrative headquarters of the region where there are so many economic activities especially the fish processing plants and other factories. This has also contributed to increase of infections in Musoma Rural District.
She said such a situation has been mainly caused by high dependency (almost 90%) on donors in putting up a fight against HIV/AIDS especially in educating the masses on how to combat the deadly disease. Once the donors leave the place, the whole exercise halts.
For that reason, Dr. Lugoe says it is high time the Region and its District Councils addressed the issue which is a big challenge to development and set aside some funds to facilitate the combat against HIV/AIDS without waiting for assistance from donors.
She said that was the only way that will help the Region and its Districts to become self sufficient after the donors have left or halted funding, so as to reduce the alarming speed of infection.
“Dependency on donors is a big challenge in the war against HIV/AIDS in our region since even this home based care has been very much dependent on donors. It is now the responsibility of the region and its district councils to set aside funds every year for combating and reducing infection and spread of this deadly disease” said the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for Mara Region.
However, she advised those living with HIV/AIDS to stop the habit of stopping use of the drugs after having started so as to avoid resistance of viruses, speed of infection and spread of the disease. She also advised those who had stigma against HIV/AIDS victims to change their attitudes.
“These statistics are frightening and it is possible that a big number of people have not been screened for HIV/AIDS as a result of traditional myths of many tribes in Mara Region. We therefore request many people to volunteer for HIV/AIDS tests so as to know their health status and avoid sex without proper protection so as to reduce new infections” said the Coordinator.
Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of the KAYA CCI the head of the project in Tanzania Ms Rahnhna Afriye said the project’s duration was five years and would initially involve Musoma Rural District and Municipality while arrangements for take off in Rorya District will go simultaneously with those of Manyara Region and after take off the project will be introduced to Kagera Region.
She said under sponsorship of the American people through their health services department, the project aims at bringing the services closer to the victims at their homes and distribution of essential drugs to the patients, providing education about HIV/AIDS, reducing stigma and availing nutritious food to patients.
This head of the KAYA CCI project said that Africare has had close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare through AIDS control programs in districts of the concerned regions and various stakeholders both in and outside the country so as to realize the slogan of “Tanzania without HIV/AIDS is possible.”
She continued that such health services at home through the project are aimed at patients of resistant ailments including HIV/AIDS whereby Africare works through home based voluntary service providers who have been helping the patients and providing nutritious food, severity reducing drugs for HIV/AIDS, educating the masses on how to reduce the speed of new infections and spread of HIV/AIDS, including provision of condoms and safe drinking water to patients at home.
Ms Afriye says that the war against HIV/AIDS needs joint efforts, working together as a team comprising District Councils and stakeholders and by so doing the speed of new infections will be reduced and patients will feel well cared instead of being stigmatized.
“Our main task in both Musoma Rural and Musoma Municipality and later Rorya is to empower respective district councils to provide home based care and strengthen health teams enabling them to work effectively which will be the best way to win this war.” She said.
Speaking at the inauguration of the project, on behalf of the Mara Regional Administrative Secretary, the Assistant Regional Administrative Secretary Mr. Reginald Kombania, called upon all district councils within Mara Region to address the war against infection and fast spread of HIV/AIDS as an agenda that requires priority in all development plans and at the same time set aside funds for the task.
For that reason he thanked the Africare organization for working hand in hand with the Tanzania Government in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He also took the opportunity to warn some non-government organizations against using AIDS victims as means of soliciting funds for personal use.
“From now onwards I want to hear and see every district council in Mara Region planning on how to reduce the speed of HIV/AIDS infection by setting aside a budget for this task. We should remember that without sound health to our people there will be no development achieved.” He said.
He insisted that it is the responsibility of those district councils to support home based care service and impart knowledge about HIV/AIDS instead of leaving the task to the donors.
Since Rorya District has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections in Mara Region after Makete District in Iringa Region and is rated second in the country, the district leadership in Rorya has appealed to the district community to abstain from traditional tendencies which cause high and fast spread of HIV/AIDS infections.
This was said recently in Rorya District by the District Fisheries Officer of Rorya District Andreas Madindo on behalf of the District Executive Director of Rorya Patrict Basaya at the closing of the 21 days training to more than 40 trainees who had attended training on home based care being coordinated by a non governmental organization – Africare of Mara Region, only a few days after inauguration of the project.
He thanked the training participants who had left their families and decided to attend training which will benefit the community from where they come in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Also Africare through its KAYA CCI project has started such training to show how much they care for lives of Tanzanians especially residents of Rorya District which has the highest infection percentage in Mara Region.
He said he believed through this KAYA CCI (Community Care Initiative) which has been brought by Africare, the training would show challenges in implementation of home based care and services to those living very far from dispensaries; thus making a very big contribution to the government efforts.
Mr. Madindo said that the community needed to be educated that stigmatization of a victim brings about his fast demise because doing so makes him lose hope of living. The training would therefore create new attitudes in the community.
“Those of us that have received this training ought to be good example in the community in showing that we care for the patients and give them new hope of living because stigmatization would speed up their demise.” Said the Fisheries Officer.
He said it was the responsibility of those that had received this training to educate the community and patients who had abandoned treatment after getting started to resume treatment at health centres and those that cannot make it to health centres to agree to be treated at home.
He continued to say that in this modern world it is deplorable for a community to encourage the culture of inheriting widows for that is done in communities that have not had enough education about the deadly disease.
On the part of the head of KAYA CCI institution Ranahnan Afriye, speaking at the closing of training reiterated that the institution would be ready to help Tanzanians in health, water and food so that the Tanzanian society enjoys good living conditions.
He said he hoped the project which was being co-sponsored by the US and Tanzania governments would reach a big part of Tanzania with trainees being ambassadors who will reach the villages and see how the community lives.
The Coordinator for home based care in Rorya District Pyres Chimwejo said that he had confidence that a big part of the Rorya community would benefit from the training which would help in building awareness on matters related to health.
He said that it was good for the community to realize that home based patients deserved better services so as to restore lost hope.
On their part, some of the trainees said they believed they would now be good Africare ambassadors as they knew how to take care of a home based patient.
They added that they knew there were many challenges in providing that service but were confident that this training and the skills they had got from their trainers would enable them deliver the required education to the targeted community.
“This training that we got is very good as we now believe we shall be good ambassadors in serving the community which had probably lost hope.” Said one of the trainees.
The training which was conducted at Mennonite Church in Rorya District just a few days after inauguration of KAYA CCI project upon seeing the magnitude of HIV/AIDS in Rorya, was concluded by trainees being awarded certificates as a gesture of recognition of contribution they will make to the community.
Speaking about the initiatives to be taken by the health department in cooperation with the regional leadership in reducing the infection speed, the Regional Medical Officer Dr. Samson Winani said they were making arrangements to convene an historical workshop for Mara Region which will address the infection and spread of HIV/AIDS and how to combat the same.
He said the workshop which would involve all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, religious institutions, donors, peasants, fishermen, miners and other economic sectors will come out with a correct way to achieve success in the fight against HIV/AIDS infection and spread which he said was threatening to frustrate the regional and national efforts to combat the disease.
“After inauguration of this project by our Africare colleagues, we now deem it necessary to convene the first workshop in our region to discuss in detail the increase of HIV/AIDS infections and how to organize ourselves to find a better way without depending on foreign donors in our efforts to combat the disease.
He said one of the big challenges was how the region will organize itself on how to convince villagers on protection and safe sex and promote use of condoms by giving them free instead of selling them.
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