GCRN – AMARC – CIDA – HIV/AIDS – Radio Ada
DISC MARKED HIV/AIDS PROGRAMME 3
o PROJECT TITLE – GCRN – AMARC – CIDA – HIV/AIDS Programme Series
o NAME AND LOCATION OF STATION: Radio Ada – Dangme East District (Greater Accra Region)
o TITLE OF PROGRAMME: The need to know status and cope with: the need for a traditional healer to advice patients for VCT before traditional treatment.
o DURATION: 32 min. 04sec
o DATE OF BROADCAST: November 22nd , 2009
o TIME OF BROADCAT: 19:30
o NAME OF PARTNER NGO: Manya Krobo Queen Mothers Association.
PROGRAMME: 3
The first thing every one thinks about in the morning is where to get food. To work for a living or food, we need to stay healthy. Our people say “Work and eat”, but beloved listeners, if the immune system is weak, how can you get your daily bread? There is a disease called HIV, experts say that when the virus enters the immune system, the virus multiplies and gradually develops into AIDS. This is why many NGOs and CBO advocates for the sensitization of the disease. The Ghana AIDS Commission is also playing its part. These bodies are in the communities trying to combat the disease. Today, you will be hearing from three panelists who are abreast to the disease. They are here to explain things to us what the responsibilities of Government, Families and individuals are. They are Hon Walter Yaw Hormenu of the Abanse electoral Area. He will touch on issues concerning the traditional religion; particularly on African Traditional religion because he is also an herbalist, we also have Emmanuel Awaitey, who is in charge Youth Vision, an NGO. Then finally we have Lukeman Adams of Relief Network and working on care and support of a survivor. Friends, Panelists, you are welcome.
ANS: Thank you.
QUE: How is work?
ANS: Going on.
QUE: Lukeman, tell us something brief about HIV before we proceed.
ANS: HIV/AIDS is a disease acquired from unprotected sex especially if one partner has the virus. When it happens you will not know it immediately. It will be with you until it begins to show signs like severe headache, lasting for two weeks or a month, stomach upset, lost of appetite, whitish sore in the mouth, etc. when you see any of these, you will need to go for VCT. After the test, if it turns out that you are positive, we will help you mange it at this stage. My NGO, advices the youth to take the test in order to know their HIV status because if you know your status you are one step ahead. This necessary because when turn out to be negative after the test, you will know how to live the rest of your life.
QUE: Okay! Listeners, we just heard Brother Lukeman Adams, but before I ask Mr. Walter to come in, I’ll ask you the following for clarification. You said when the person is having sore in the mouth, severe headache, etc. is that not what they call symptoms?
ANS: Yes! They are called symptoms.
QUE: Will you wait for symptoms before you go in for the test? Please explain it for me.
ANS: That is why I ended by saying that it is good for every one to go for the test while the body is still healthy. If you tested negative afterwards, you will decide how to live the rest of your life. And when you are positive, you will be assisted on how to manage it.
QUE: Mr. Walter, he said it is better to go for the test, but some members of the community will also claim that when they know their status, and it is positive, they will be too worried and hang themselves so they prefer not to know it at all. What is you tick on that?
ANS: Thank you Mr. Noah Dameh. When you know your status that will boost your faith and help you live longer on earth. When you know your status, there are counselors to take you through counseling. Secondly there are drugs that can keep you alive for many years. In the past we used to say “I don’t want to know my status because if I know, I will over think about it, grow lean and die”. Researchers have proven that all these perceptions are what put fear in us. HIV can be compared to malaria, gonorrhea, and other sickness. It is not shameful to say I want to take the test. I am saying it was in the past, this is the present, don’t fear, go and know your status.
HOST: We heard of the elected assembly member of Abanse electoral area, David Yaw Walter Hormenu Mawulolo. I told you earlier that Emmanuel Awaitey is a project coordinator of Youth Vision.
QUE: You deal with the youth, is it true that HIV/AIDS exist? What you will say is what they you will stick to.
ANS: Thank you. I first want to thank you for the opportunity to spread the message to the youth. If we say HIV, some people think it is just a mere thing we are saying. It is a disease that has become part of our lives and destroying us. It is true. If someone tells you that there is nothing called HIV, that person is deceiving you. It is not spiritual as some people call it “Ghost sickness”. Most often the youth take things for granted. Some will say why should I eat banana with its peel, why should I bath with my body covered with clothing?
It is true my brethren, but can you compare your live with unpeeled banana? It is high time the youth stood firm. We were educated on how it affects us. Now let’s look at ways and means of doing away with it. We say condom use but personally, I have observed that the only way to do this is by behavior change. When we know this, it will go a long way to help us. The disease is killing a lot of people and we can see. Sometimes we drink alcohol and feel sexy. If I’m speaking, I am Speaking form my own experience. When hundred people get drunk, eighty percent feel sexy and end up raped or sometimes have unprotected sex with “anything” at all.
In the past, a man can have hundred partners but now if you attempt it you are doomed. What I will say is that we should take the issue of HIV/AIDS seriously like how Christians wake up in the morning to read the bible. We need to listen to the message everyday so that we will know how to live our life. To help reduce the rate of the spreading of the virus, I want to encourage the women to insist on the use of condom. Women are powerful during sex, such that if they ask their men to carry them on the back, then men have no option but do that. So if women will insist that no condom no sex, I believe the rate of spread will minimize. In fact everything depends on the women. Recently on of the newspapers published that the female condom is being patronized more than the male condom. It is saddens my heart that researchers have revealed that women buy the female condom and use its ring-like object as bracelet.
QUE: Now that you say it is the responsibility of women to insist on using condoms during sex, which other ways can we patronize condoms in Ghana.
ANS: You will testify that the Government and other NGOs put plenty of money in HIV education, but everything is centered on abstinence. However abstinence is very difficult for you and ma because we are addicted to sex. My appeal to the Government is that as they are pumping money into HIV education, they should not forget to pump some into condom production of different types – like rough rider, Angazy spicy love condom, etc. which are expensive on the market. These can be subsidized and made affordable for everyone. As I speak, the less efficient condom is sold for 5 pesewas. The true is I can’t use them and when I ask ten of my friends; they say that during sex, they take it off.
QUE: Who takes it off, the women or men?
ANS: The men themselves.
HOST: Listeners, where I came in was when Mr. Awaitey said they remove it. I asked him who and he said the men. Let’s listen further.
ANS: The women also remove it. You will put on some types of condom and realize your “something” is heavy. I quite remember, during sex said to me “my brother what are you doing with the condom, do you think you are feeling the taste.
What she said and what I was experiencing was true but I stood firm and used the condom till I finished. If the Government will subsidize the quality condom, everybody can use. , Brother Noah, if you will testify than you use condoms like Rough Rider and the youth 5 pesewas one. What is different is the taste. Most people who use cheap condoms remove it on the way because they don’t feel the taste. If this happens, you contract the virus and even pass it on to another person. After shaving, there are cuts around the penis and private parts. If you wear the condom, the rest of the private part is unprotected.
We were educated that the virus is can be found also in the seminal and virginal fluids. So when you have a blade cut and the condom is only around the penis, the virus can easily be acquired. I will plead with you to abstain from sex at least for one week or two until the sore heals.
QUE: What about when someone tests positive but challenges the results by claiming that what is making him or her sick is to a spiritual attack due to witchcraft or family idols. Do you receive cases like this at Adams Relief Network?
ANS: I encourage them to take the test when they come to my office. What happens is that when people are told their status and it turns out to be positive, they tend to deny saying they don’t believe it. But after a while they realize that something is happening to them. What is killing us is denial. Some violently hold my chest in denial before accepting their status. Those who to deny go and continue spreading the virus. Someone has the disease through other means apart from sex. There ways of managing HIV is you know you are positive. One, you will be careful, two you will be faithful to yourself and finally, there are many places you can get help as my brother Walter mentioned that there are some drugs, yes! There are drugs but if you challenge the result how can you be assisted? You will not be assisted and that will be dangerous.
QUE: Listeners I made you aware that our brother Walter will speak on the role the herbalist plays in curing the disease. Mr. Walter, so they claim some people do not believe the test results, sometimes when they know their status, they run to spiritual churches and herbalists and shines for treatment. Will you attest to that?
ANS: Thank you Mr. Noah, truly speaking, up to today, there are plenty hospitals and clinics but as Africa, we have faith in traditional healing. At times people visit the hospitals and are not healed and so come to us. When HIV was diagnosed, people had little knowledge over the disease so when the disease developed into AIDS, infected people thought they were being tried by fetish. They then seek the help of a prophetess, prophet, fetish priest, any church, herbalist known as African traditional religion. When they go, the traditional healer has no equipment for the test but sometimes it God who speaks to them. If you say you are feeling headache, they will give you drugs for only headache. You will finally die because what is causing the headache is in the blood. For now the Traditional Healers Association executives are in partnership with the Government. Through this partnership they are trained on issues related to HIV.
What we do now is, when you come a disease we try the medicine on you two times and the situation those not improve, we recommend the HIV/AIDS test for you. We are in partnership the VCT centers. When you are positive we find out if there is any herbalist who has medicine to improve the immune system. When the test is negative, the herbalist can heal the patient through rituals and purification. There are herbalists that I know who prepare herb for survivors and also prevent other sickness like BT, Malaria, Gonorrhea, etc. which will develop and kill you – that herbal mixtures stop them.
Now our level is high, so if you come and we realize it is a curable we cure you but when it is AIDS, the survivors can go in for antiretroviral drug or if the herbalist has any alternative to support the immune system. Majority of us are doing so now but in most cases there fake herbalists because of what he or she will eat for the day he will claim that he knows the disease. He will camp you while praying for you, using anointing oils and finally the survivor dies. Because of this, we saying that do not camp any patient for over a month without improvement. Diseases that cannot be cure with chemicals and we have its cure, we go ahead.
Now we are about signing a contract with the National Health Insurance scheme. Currently there is no cure for HIV; any prescribed drug from a doctor is might to manage it. Traditional herbalists are now reaching in to the problem. When you go to “Nugutsi” Memorial Research Centre, efforts are being made to discover the cure. The whites are also researching. Just like how gonorrhea initially killed a lot of people before finding its cure, the cure for AIDS will also come. Until then the drugs around makes sure that you will live a better life. Make sure you know your status. Whether you have led a good or bad life, go for the test and know you status, it is not a shame. I believe when we are able to do this thing, the rate at which the disease is killing people will minimize. Those already infected will live longer.
QUE: Before we end this programme, let me ask you this: HIV, is it a spiritual sickness or what?
ANS: Thank you. When HIV first came in Africa, people said it was a curse from god because of prostitution. People also claim the virus is from monkeys, ghost, from how the infected person live his life and believe that is was fetish someone invoked spirit upon him or her. However, research as proven that all HIV cases sent to the hospitals are not related to fetish or ghost. It may be true that someone invoked a spirit upon someone but normally, the person is a carrier before the fetish is used on him or her. In Africa there are things like this. Someone can invoke fetish on you, at the same time HIV/AIDS. HIV is not fetish; no god has proven that HIV is fetish.