Concern over discrimination at health centres

Workshop facilitator Adolf Maveneke stresses a point during the training of community health centre committees on HIV, TB and human rights at Luveve Youth Centre in Bulawayo yesterday

Melody Baya Chronicle Reporter
PEOPLE living with HIV and Aids as well as Tuberculosis (TB) patients in Zimbabwe are facing discrimination at health centres, according to presentations’ made at a workshop in Bulawayo yesterday. Herbert Mzimkhulu of the Zimbabwe National Network of People living with HIV (ZNNP+) said they were treated differently when seeking medical help.

He said the country’s Constitution and other international statutes which Zimbabwe is signatory to recognise the rights of everyone including those living with HIV and Aids. “People living with HIV and TB are being discriminated, they’re handled differently at clinics when they’re no different from people suffering from other diseases like diabetes and cancer,” Mzimkhulu said during the workshop held at the Luveve Youth Centre.

“People living with HIV are also given green cards or files different from those given to the rest of the patients and are made to line up in different queues which alludes to discrimination.” Mzimkhulu said people living with HIV and Aids also face discrimination and stigma from within their communities.

Adolf Maveneke, the SAfAids training and advocacy coordinator, said the two-day training workshop is aimed at generating knowledge and better understanding of issues to do with HIV and TB so that personnel at health centres can be efficient service providers to communities around them.

The workshop is expected to help health centres to eradicate discriminatory tendencies. “We’re targeting people living with HIV and other key populations such as sex workers, inmates and ex inmates depending on their circumstances” added Maveneke.

Those attending the training workshop are expected to form committees in their communities that will help in dealing with problems affecting people with HIV and TB. A similar workshop has since been held in Matabeleland North with Bulawayo province being the second to have such a training seminar to enable people to get a better understanding of both HIV and TB.

Other workshops are planned for Masvingo, Matabeleland South, Manicaland and Harare provinces.