More than 35 000 mothers HIV positive
• By Tracy Tafirenyika
Besides the country still battling to eliminate the high prevalence of HIV among pregnant women, a notable 35 000 HIV positive mothers successfully gave birth to 98 percent virus free children in the past three years, Confidente has learnt.
Statistics from the health ministry public relations show that, although the success story has been recorded in saving the babies from contracting the virus, only 288 babies were infected by their mothers.
According to the Ministry of Health and Social Service, the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme by the Ministry of Health and Social Services has helped to reduce the MTCT.
Speaking to Confidente this week, executive director in the ministry of health Ben Nangombe said HIV and AIDS remains a top priority for the country.
“HIV and AIDS is the country’s top priority, as we are looking at issues of mother to child transmission so that we ensure that we are providing care treatment and information to our infected mothers. We want to make sure that by 2030 HIV and AIDS will no longer be a public concern.
“We are providing services in terms of testing and treatment. Namibia is responding very well when it comes to the prevention of HIV and AIDS, 90 percent of the people in Namibia know their status and 98 percent people who know their status are on treatment. Mother to child transmission is also helping to prevent the spread of HIV because mothers are receiving their treatment and the information they need.
Nangombe also added that, “The government and other important stakeholders have also made sure that the ARV’s are available to those who need them. The drugs are now being prescribed of three months instead of one month to avoid going to the hospital every month for the drugs. We have also put in place clubs were mothers and other people affected with HIV help and motivate each other to adhere to the treatment.
There is community initiatives, teen clubs, adolescent clubs which mentors the people Psychologist Shaun Robert Whittaker in an interview with Confidente that women who are HIV positive can still give birth to healthy babies.
“What is important is that they can still go on with their lives and they can get married.
Some of these babies are usually negative which means they can still continue with their lives. Positive mothers should not be constrained at all because they can still go on with their daily lives even if they are HIV positive.
“The reason why some mothers do not go for antenatal care is because they do not understand the benefits of this care and they need guidance and knowledge about this care so that they can avoid the risk of giving their babies HIV during birth. We need to guide them and counsel and talk to them and encourage them about how they should take antenatal care seriously,” he said.
Yvonne Stramiss, a psychological counsellor explained that some mothers do not go for antenatal because they feel unsafe to disclose their status to health workers.
“Some mothers experience harsh treatment from the caretakers at some of these institutions. They find it difficult to go every time being exposed emotionally while battling their own feelings of guilt, anger and blame towards themselves.
“They would rather wait their term till the end to avoid that … which we all know is neither fair nor right. Being pregnant, carrying your child is supposed to be the most wonderful and beautiful experience, yet going through all this makes it torture and a traumatic experience for them,” she said.