Blantyre residents urged to go for HIV testing

Blantyre district principal nutrition, HIV and Aids officer Pearson Mphangwe has urged residents to go for voluntary counselling and testing to know their HIV status.

He made the call on Tuesday in Lirangwe during the district’s commemoration of the World Aids Day organised with support from Gift of the Givers Foundation.

Mphangwe expressed concern with Blantyre’s high HIV prevalence rate which is at 17.6 percent against the national prevalence rate of 10.8 percent.

He said: “I encourage people to go for voluntary testing and counselling to know their status to contain the spread of the pandemic.

“However, the district is utilising partners such as Gift of the Givers to intensify awareness campaigns and efforts to fight the pandemic.”

Gift of the Givers country manager Sherifa Mia said they work with Blantyre District Health Office (DHO) in providing nutritional supplements to 16 health centres targeting people on anti-retroviral (ARVs) reatment.

She said: “Since many Malawians have no food in their homes and a lot of patients on ARVs do not have enough food in their homes, they end up being malnourished and they do not get well quickly.

“Gift of the Givers took up the responsibility to help the DHO in providing nutrition for them so that they get better.”

Anne M’buka from Traditional Authority Lundu encouraged her fellow youths to go for voluntary counselling and testing.

She said: “I got tested for HIV when I was pregnant as it is mandatory to test pregnant mothers. I tested positive and it was hard for me to accept until I received counselling from hospital personnel.

“I followed medical advice and I delivered a child who tested negative. He is now in Standard Four in primary school.”

World Aids Day is commemorated on December, but Blantyre District commemorated the day on Tuesday.