World AIDS Day: DENOSA pays tribute to nurses for SA’s 95-79-93 progress in fighting HIV/AIDS despite many challenges they face
As the world commemorates World AIDS Day on 1 December, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) would like to pay special tribute to the nurses for their outstanding work in fighting HIV/AIDS in the communities despite many challenges.
While there is still more work that needs to be done to achieve the UNAIDS’ 95-95-95 targets by 2025 in managing the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the country’s progress, which is currently at 95-79-93 is largely thanks to the nurses of the country who are leading the fighting against the pandemic in the districts.
The country’s score means 95 percent of the people who have HIV know their status; and that, of those who know their status, 79 percent of them are on treatment; and that 93 percent of those who are on treatment are virally suppressed.
DENOSA believes the immediate challenge for the country on the second target lies in the 1.1 million people who have HIV but are not on treatment; and the young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years who are still recording 1300 new infections every week, particularly the young girls and women.
These two challenges threaten the country’s progress in managing HIV/AIDS, whose success thus far has had positive effects and increased the country’s average life expectancy thanks to Nurse-Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (NIMART) programme, which essentially shifted the task of managing HIV to the nurses in the country, thus resulting in the huge increase in those who are diagnosed and initiated into the Antiretroviral therapy (ART).
For the country to continue registering good progress, addressing the following areas could further improve the progress in the fight against AIDS:
– Better budget allocation towards health promotion campaigns targeting young people and those who are not on treatment yet.
– Prioritising the decongestion of clinics by increasing pick-up points for people on treatment to pick up their medication nearer to their homes, and this could the channel for other chronic medication as well as a way to fight stigma.
– Reducing the visits to facilities for people who are up to date on treatment by picking up their treatment only twice in a year – this means giving them 6 months treatment in line with the WHO guidelines.
– Improve the remuneration of HIV programme managers in the districts.
– For government to improve the working conditions of the nurses, whose symptoms are burn out, negative attitude, anxiety, and depression.
– Healthcare organisations to work closely with patient organisations and communities to troubleshoot key areas of difficulties between the two sides.