Aid workers warn of growing HIV/AIDs infections/deaths in NW as conflict worsens

By Bakah Derick first published by The Guardian Post Daily Newspaper 

Aid and humanitarian service workers across the NW region say the region risk experiencing the highest HIV/AIDs as the ongoing armed conflict rages on. Speaking to hilltopvoices recently in Bamenda, Fidelia working as an Aid and Humanitarian worker in Boyo for a UNICEF sponsored project said her experiences on the ground on the sexual life of young people just like the older people favour the spread of HIV/AIDS.

“The way the things are, it is terrible. You know with the displacements and consequently living in group sex has just become a regular routine of many people in the villages where I work. I have been talking to others who have been living with the decease and yet they say boys still force her or insist on having sex with her even if she says she is sick.” Fidelia explains 

With continues gun battles, lock downs and ghost towns making movements very difficult added to the fear of being killed by a bullet, many of these people don’t go again for testing or checkup and so the risk of unrecorded new infections and no follow up for the existing cases. “Health services are practically not functional in most places where I work. People are living mostly on herbs without any form of hospital diagnosis reasons why many are dying from basic diseases mostly caused by deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions. You know that in normal times many institutions come around for free HIV?AIDs testing and this normally serve like sensitization campaigns but u know that these structures don’t come again because of the shooting, kidnapping and others.” 

Mindful of the fact that Humanitarian emergencies and conflict disrupt normal social and economic structures and activities and often involve mass displacement, Fidelia expians that the breakdown of social cohesion, lack of income, shortage of food, sexual violence, increased drug use and the disruption of health, education and infrastructure that characterise complex emergencies all contribute to putting populations affected by these crises at greater risk of HIV and present challenges for those already living with the virus.

The aid worker is grateful that despite the traumatised nature of some persons she works with, many still find time to listen to her sensitization talk following the training and support she receives from her organization Strategic Humanitarian Services SHUMAS Cameroon. “Though we face the same difficulties in the field myself and my colleagues have been benefiting from the skills given us by SHUMAS to educate the people in communities especially on basic hygiene and sanitation and the need to do their AIDs test and followup with their antiretroviral drugs if positive.” Fidelia noted

As to what can be done to reverse the situation Dr Christopher Saah says “in times of crisis, I think if we can determine the roles and responsibilities of key health actors in this crisis, educate the armed factions to respect health and aid workers so as to make available passage for prevention supplies such as condoms and testing kits so that they are dispersed between a good number of facilities, make available tools such as health travel cards with details of treatment to help ensure treatment is not interrupted if patients are displaced, providing longer-term prescriptions, ensure that HIV services are available in camps for people who have been displaced, provide rapid tests and ensuring safe blood transfusions are some of the ways to curb the situation.” 

During the 2018 World Aids Day observance in Bamenda last December, Health officials charged with HIV/AIDs control said there is an increase in the infections rates especially amongst young people as HIV services during the crises is clearly still not meeting the needs of the people affected.