Mashila was giving an update on the HIV situation in the Tonota District recently during the Month of Prayer against HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence(GBV) and road traffic crashes. According to Mashila, they registered 60 cases of teenage pregnancy between April and June as compared to 52 cases recorded in the previous quarter. All cases were between the age of 15 and 19 years and mostly from Borolong and Tonota villages respectively. Mashila was concerned that in less than six months, about 112 children were reported to be pregnant. She also said some of the pregnant teenagers tested positive for HIV during the same period. The majority of the affected teenagers are school-going children who ultimately dropped out of school due to pregnancy. “Children are being defiled and some are being raped, which in most cases is attributed to child negligence as such incidents take place in the absence of their parents or guardians,” she added. When revealing the current HIV statistics, she stated that 2, 034 people tested for HIV between April and June. According to Mashila, 51 individuals among those who tested within the same time frame had positive results.
The Ministry of Health estimates that about 330, 000 people are living with HIV in the country, with about 2, 200 new cases amongst adults each year. She further stated that only 45 people enrolled for HAART with the other five citing lack of readiness to start treatment. Furthermore, she said that 8, 532 residents of the district, which stretches from Matsitama to Serule village, have enrolled for HAART treatment. Regretfully, she stated that 221 patients had stopped receiving their treatment, which she stressed to be a threat to the community. "We don't know why they are defaulting from treatment, but some people claim they are tired of taking their medication. The very drugs they are abstaining from are designed to strengthen their immune systems and prolong their lives. We want to see you raising your children but not leaving them behind to become orphans,” she remarked.
She added that people ought to consider their children and families before stopping their treatment. She also mentioned that they have registered 939 cases of STI from April to June as compared to 832 recorded from the previous quarter. She further said the people engaged in unprotected sex despite knowing there was a higher risk of HIV and STI transmission. Mashila was also dissatisfied that despite the high condom distribution, there is a probability that people are not using condoms. She also stated that although there are alarming cases of STI’s, they are registering low numbers in contact tracing. “The data for partners coming for treatment through contact tracing should be equal to the STI cases. From 939 cases, only 250 partners came for treatment through contact tracing. Almost 700 people in the district did not come to get treated for different STIs,” she added. On a different note, she stated that the district is doing well on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmissions ( PMTCT) programme as 100% of expectant mothers who tested HIV positive are on HAART treatment. Despite PMTCT's success, she clarified that partner testing remains their main concern.
According to Mashila, since both parents will be raising the child, it is expected that every expectant mother and partner should get tested for HIV. “Most of the men do not come for HIV partner testing. The statistics shows that about 21.8% men have availed themselves for partner testing,” she added. She clarified that partner testing was essential for expectant mothers because there are situations in which children test negative for HIV at birth but turn positive later. She further explained that partners may be unfaithful and engage in unprotected sex during this time, increasing the risk of HIV/STIs being passed from the mother to the child through breastfeeding. Therefore, Mashila emphasised that in order to protect their children from diseases, mothers and their partners should use condoms during the breastfeeding period. She also said late registration for antenatal care (ANC) by pregnant women is still common in the district. ANC provides for HIV testing and medications to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
She stated that expectant mothers should register and test for HIV in the early months of pregnancy so that if they test positive they can be enrolled for PMTCT. Regarding tuberculosis (TB), Mashila reported that eight cases of the disease have been reported in the district during the same period. She said that amongst the registered cases, five are living with HIV and receiving HAART treatment. She disclosed that they have recorded multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB cases of which four were registered in Chadibe and one in Tonota.
