Women lead HIV fight in Lesotho
By, British Red Cross Society, November 14, 2006
The HIV pandemic affects more women than men worldwide – a fact dramatically illustrated in Lesotho, in southern Africa, where two in five young women have the virus.
As many as 40 per cent of women aged 20 to 39 have HIV in Lesotho which has a population of just 2.2 million. The number of Lesotho men infected is also high but at 23 per cent is half the prevalence rate of women in the country.As the number of AIDS-related deaths continues to rise, the British Red Cross has been supporting the Lesotho Red Cross in its fight against the disease.
The Lesotho Red Cross runs the largest and most monitored home-based care programme in the country. This operates through a network of trained care facilitators who provide long-term support for people with HIV in their homes.
Women are not only the majority of clients, but also the majority of carers.
Mother-of-three Matlape Sethathi from Lesotho in southern Africa has been helped by the Red Cross after testing positive for HIV.
Symptoms
The 44-year-old had been feeling unwell but until she met Red Cross volunteer Bless Mahlampo, she did not know how to find out about her symptoms or get treatment.
Bless arranged for Matlape to get tested and since then has been providing her with basic medical supplies to ease her symptoms. Matlape has also joined a support group for people on the Lesotho Red Cross home-based care programme.
"The care facilitators are often women," explained British Red Cross delegate Nicola Stevenson, who worked in Lesotho for 18 months. "Girls often have to come out of school to care for their families."
However, the British Red Cross is helping young carers to carry on at school by helping to fund bags, books, shoes and school uniforms.
Another British Red Cross initiative is providing cash for people to travel to clinics.
"We found that transport costs to clinics were frequently a barrier to people getting healthcare," Nicola said.
Healthcare
One HIV client praised the support she receives from a Red Cross facilitator called Mapotso.
"Mapotso gives me information on what to eat and how to look after myself, this sort of support is not available from anywhere else," she said.
"I know to ask Mapotso for information and supplies and when she cannot assist she sends me to the health clinic to see the nurse."
Nicola believes that the programme's greatest impact has been tackling the stigma of AIDS.
"Stigma is huge in Lesotho. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the virus and many people don't even realise they are discriminating against those with HIV," she said.
One way of tackling stigma is through 'Ambassadors of Hope', people living with HIV, who work with Red Cross volunteers and the community to break down stigma by open discussion.
By, British Red Cross Society, November 14, 2006
"People are becoming more open about their HIV status because of the programme's support network," she said. "The support groups enable people to talk about their problems in a structured way. For the first time someone sat down with me and said 'I am HIV positive' and talked quite openly about it and being on the programme."
The support groups also give people the opportunity to participate in livelihood projects. For example, basket making, poultry rearing, horticulture, sewing and candle making.
"Some of these are income-generating but above all they are therapeutic and often raise people's self-esteem," Nicola said.
By regaining self-esteem, people can learn to help themselves, which is key to living positively with HIV.
The HIV pandemic affects more women than men worldwide – a fact dramatically illustrated in Lesotho, in southern Africa, where two in five young women have the virus.
As many as 40 per cent of women aged 20 to 39 have HIV in Lesotho which has a population of just 2.2 million. The number of Lesotho men infected is also high but at 23 per cent is half the prevalence rate of women in the country.As the number of AIDS-related deaths continues to rise, the British Red Cross has been supporting the Lesotho Red Cross in its fight against the disease.
The Lesotho Red Cross runs the largest and most monitored home-based care programme in the country. This operates through a network of trained care facilitators who provide long-term support for people with HIV in their homes.
Women are not only the majority of clients, but also the majority of carers.
Mother-of-three Matlape Sethathi from Lesotho in southern Africa has been helped by the Red Cross after testing positive for HIV.
Symptoms
The 44-year-old had been feeling unwell but until she met Red Cross volunteer Bless Mahlampo, she did not know how to find out about her symptoms or get treatment.
Bless arranged for Matlape to get tested and since then has been providing her with basic medical supplies to ease her symptoms. Matlape has also joined a support group for people on the Lesotho Red Cross home-based care programme.
"The care facilitators are often women," explained British Red Cross delegate Nicola Stevenson, who worked in Lesotho for 18 months. "Girls often have to come out of school to care for their families."
However, the British Red Cross is helping young carers to carry on at school by helping to fund bags, books, shoes and school uniforms.
Another British Red Cross initiative is providing cash for people to travel to clinics.
"We found that transport costs to clinics were frequently a barrier to people getting healthcare," Nicola said.
Healthcare
One HIV client praised the support she receives from a Red Cross facilitator called Mapotso.
"Mapotso gives me information on what to eat and how to look after myself, this sort of support is not available from anywhere else," she said.
"I know to ask Mapotso for information and supplies and when she cannot assist she sends me to the health clinic to see the nurse."
Nicola believes that the programme's greatest impact has been tackling the stigma of AIDS.
"Stigma is huge in Lesotho. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the virus and many people don't even realise they are discriminating against those with HIV," she said.
One way of tackling stigma is through 'Ambassadors of Hope', people living with HIV, who work with Red Cross volunteers and the community to break down stigma by open discussion.
By, British Red Cross Society, November 14, 2006
"People are becoming more open about their HIV status because of the programme's support network," she said. "The support groups enable people to talk about their problems in a structured way. For the first time someone sat down with me and said 'I am HIV positive' and talked quite openly about it and being on the programme."
The support groups also give people the opportunity to participate in livelihood projects. For example, basket making, poultry rearing, horticulture, sewing and candle making.
"Some of these are income-generating but above all they are therapeutic and often raise people's self-esteem," Nicola said.
By regaining self-esteem, people can learn to help themselves, which is key to living positively with HIV.
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 4:31 pm
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