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Liberia: Govt. Response to HIV Unacceptable - ActionAid
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The NEWS (Monrovia)
11 July 2008
Posted to the web 11 July 2008
Monrovia
The Liberian Government has been challenged to seek more acceptable means of responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country.
In a statement issued early this week at the start of a 10-day rights-based training on HIV/AIDS programming at Cuttington University, ActionAid Liberia Country Representative Ernest Gaie, said the HIV situation in the country has a 'woman face' and little is being done to address it.
Gaie noted that government's response to the situation within the framework of the application to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) is unacceptable, as it does not consider the women situation.
The ActionAid boss said women face significant barriers in the HIV situation in the country, and called for people to "stop criminalizing women living with the virus."
He said most affected women were victims of domestic violence and other criminal activities, in which they had limited opportunities to protect themselves.
"What strength does a woman have to compel an armed rapist to use condom?" Gaie questioned.
He said as a consequence of the situation faced by all Liberians, where women are most affected, it is incumbent upon the government and the community to provide more support for the women.
He said "the government would do better if their strategy ensures that those most affected are brought to the fore and provided more opportunities."
Also speaking at the occasion, Bong County Health Officer Garfee Williams recounted that there are two sets of HIV data currently available for Liberia that put the prevalence rate at 1.5 percent based on population survey and 5.7 percent on account of the ante-natal survey.
For Bong County, Dr. Williams noted the increase in county level surveillance, which has, accordingly, projected a higher mid-2008 infection rate of 24 from 1260 tested persons, higher than the 7 infection diagnosed from 1108 tested cases from the previous year.
Commenting on government support for people living with AIDS, Dr. Williams said the application for Round 8 of the Global Fund is considering the provision of hospice care.
The occasion was attended by Bong County officials and participants from various NGOs, youth and women groups.
The workshop is part of ActionAid Liberia capacity development initiative to develop a joint effort and understanding to fight HIV/AIDS from a rights-based perspective, and is organized with support from the Kenyan Ethical and Legal Issues Network (KELIN).
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Participants were drawn from the media, government, NGOs, Women Won't Wait Coalition, Liberia Women Empowerment and LIGHT Association, while facilitators include experts came from KELIN, ActionAid and other partners.
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