Disabled Persons Not Part of AIDS Success in Zimbabwe

By Jeffrey MoyoSHURUGWI, Zimbabwe, Dec 22 2015 (IPS)Wheelchair-bound, her body now skeletal from full blown AIDS, disabled 38-year-old Melisa Chigumba attempts to wave away a swarm of flies hovering around her face as she sits outside her home in Chachacha, a remote area in Shurugwi, 278 kilometers south of the capital, Harare. Shown in the photo donning a red dress, is Zipha Moyo, a disabled HIV/AIDS activist recently making a presentation Harare, the Zimbabwean capital on the exclusion of People with Disabilities in HIV and AIDS programs. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPSHer husband, Francis, who also lived with a disability, succumbed to AIDS four years ago.The couple’s three children, who were born infected with HIV, died in their infancy.Melisa is a prime example of the millions of people here living with disabilities bearing the brunt of HIV/AIDS.Her sister-in-law Meagan, according to the Zimbabwean culture is her aunt, now looks after her at their remote home, the only inheritance left for her by her husband.According to the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH), Zimbabwe has a population of almost 1.8 million people living with disabilities.Amongst this population, are the deaf and mute who have not been spared by HIV/AIDS.This is despite Zimbabwe making huge strides in reducing HIV/AIDS prevalence from 29 per cent in 1997 to approximately 13. 7 per cent now.Many battling physical disabilities like Melisa here say they have apparently be...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Africa Development & Aid Education Featured Headlines Health Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations AIDS deaf Deaf Zimbabwe Trust Deaf Zimbabwe Trust (DZT) Disability HIV and AIDS Trust (DHAT) Disabled HIV treatment drugs IP Source Type: news