Info and ideas needed
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Greetings.
I am a member of a group of HIV positive people in Namibia, which is
looking to devise policy guidelines on testing, counselling, and treat-
ment for HIV. We are doing this in a bid to tackle discrimination, and
to lay a foundation for a society in which people can be open about HIV
and AIDS.
We feel that acceptance of HIV by people tested positive for the virus
is the first step towards eradicating discrimination, and the subse-
quent fears people have of being open about HIV and Aids. Once HIV
positive people come to terms with our status, we can - from a position
of strength - help our families, and consequently our communities, to
come to terms with HIV
Our group believes counsellors are vital to this empowerment process.
Our policy guidelines therefore lay huge emphasis on developing coun-
selling services in Namibia, and clarifying the role of counsellors in
testing, counselling and treatment for HIV.
We are currently trying to get as much advice as possible on our draft
guidelines, and would really appreciate it if you could refer me to
people and information resources that we could consult. We are particu-
larly keen to get hold of similar policy guidelines that may have been
drawn up in other countries. We would also value information and advice
on ways of developing counselling services.
Our initiative is in response to the government's announcement that it
wants to make HIV a notifiable disease. Our group met with our Health
Minister, who was very responsive to our concerns about such a move,
which we feel would lead to more discrimination if not handled prop-
erly. Our draft guidelines are based on the discussions we had with the
minister, and this draft has been submitted to the ministry officials
tasked with drawing up regulations for making HIV notifiable.
However, to work in practice, we realise that policy guidelines require
input from those who would implement them. Therefore we are looking to
discuss our guidelines with doctors, nurses, and counsellors in the
coming weeks.
I would be happy to e-mail our draft guidelines to anyone who is inter-
ested in discussing them with me further. Meanwhile, I would appreciate
any advice on our initiative, and references (on-line if possible) to
relevant information that members of the list can offer.
I look forward to hearing from you.
David Lush
PO Box 8828
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel./Fax +264-61-252-946
mailto:shirumbu@iafrica.com.na
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