Persons Living With Hiv Abandon Treatment For Prayer Camps
Persons Living with HIV abandon treatment for Prayer Camps only to return for antiretroviral at point of death.
A high number of persons living with HIV on anti-retro-viral (ATR) drugs have abandoned treatment for prayer camps and prophets.
Unfortunately, they return in a worse state as their condition deteriorates leading to their death.
This was disclosed by Mrs Golda Asante, the Eastern Regional Technical Coordinator of the Technical Support Unit of Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) in an interview at a media training and HIV workshop organized by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PERFAR).
“We sent some of our modules, that is persons living with HIV who are working at the anti-retro-viral sites to the prayer camps and they brought back about 49 persons living with HIV in a very terrible condition” she revealed.
She lamented that some had to be carried in wheel barrows whilst, others who were so weak could not make it and therefore died.
“And so, the implication of a person living with HIV who abandons their treatment regime and go and shop for other services will come back deteriorated and eventually cannot make it.”
She revealed that those who went to the prayer camps were promised healing by some prophets; some of these prophets pray over oranges among other things for them to eat.
She stated, “When a person living with HIV breaks the treatment for a long time and returns, you realize that even he or she becomes resistant to the antiretroviral drug and so we will advise they stay on the drugs for life to ensure good health.”
Persons Living with HIV abandon treatment for Prayer Camps
STATISTICS
According to the Commission, available statistics indicated that over 600 people had been lost this year. In 2016, about 1,996 people on treatment could not be traced and in 2015 and 2014, about 2,203 and 1,477 people respectively, could not be traced.
“Some of them were doing well on the treatment but after two to four years we do not see them again. However, we have come to realize that the defaulting rate is getting high and it is a major threat to achieving our 90-90-90 strategy.”
Mrs. Asante explained that the 90-90-90 strategy drawn by the Commission was to ensure that by 2020, all persons living with HIV would know their status, all persons diagnosed with HIV infection would receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and all persons receiving antiretroviral therapy would have viral suppression.
She said the Commission was doing its best to achieve its goals through the strategy by opening up multiple HIV testing points and ensuring that people were sustained on the antiretroviral drugs.
She therefore called on persons living with HIV to comply and continue treatment and avoid going to prayer camps to seek healing.
Mrs. Asante also called on all stakeholders, especially health officials at CHPS compounds in the districts to encourage and help persons living with HIV to receive treatment to prevent deterioration and deaths.
The programme was in collaboration with the African Centre for Development Reporting (ACEDEV) and funded by the United States Embassy.
By Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu-Nyarko, Koforidua
The writer is a Journalist with the Ghanaian Times.