Men urged to support PMTCT programme
James Kgosi | Tuesday September 1, 2015 16:18
Speaking at a workshop held in Zwenshambe over the weekend, Busumani said statistics countrywide show that men are lagging behind in testing for HIV and rely on their partners to know their status.
She said the district is hard hit, saying out of the 780 registered pregnancies in 2014, only 49 men tested with their partners.
The host village, Zwenshambe, was also hard hit as no men came to test with their 69 pregnant partners.
She said the trend continued this year where no men came forward to register for testing from the 26 registered pregnancies.
She said: “Men who take part in the programme demonstrate responsibility, care and support of their families. This helps build solid relationships”.
Busumani added that when both partners are involved in the programme, they assist each other.
She said that women should encourage their partners if they are HIV positive, to enroll for the ARV programme since men are not keen on going to health facilities unless they are critically ill.
For his part, guest speaker and councillor, Jenamiso Jerry said it is imperative for men to play their part and ensure their children are born free from the virus.
“We all have a role to play in the programme. Generally, men drag their feet when it comes to HIV testing .
It would be a serious indictment on us as men, if our children are born HIV positive because we did not care. We should ask ourselves what contribution we made in protecting the unborn babies. We should change this attitude so that zero HIV transmission can be realised,” he said.
Jerry encouraged attendants to spread the message about the programme in gatherings such as football games, churches and other social platforms. He added that the health professionals should make the event a big one by involving all key stakeholders.
The workshop, which was held under the theme, ‘Be A Real Father, Support PMTCT’ was spiced up with football games and testing for various ailments on the day.