by Otsile Valentine Keobokile
Francinah Moumakwa Sinos describes her childhood as a normal one and she was never a trouble child. The mid-40s residing in Kumakwane village, some 25 kilometers west from Botswana capital Gaborone, recalled that she was always playing a motherly role while she was with her age mates.
Growing up in a family where she had both of her parents, she, like any other ordinary woman who has a dream of one day getting married, having children and living a happy life. Her dream came true when she got married to a non-citizen of Botswana.
“I remember when my husband asked me to marry him, I was the happiest woman on earth, the worry of never getting married came to rest, as we know in our culture a woman has to get married. If not, she will not be respected,” she said.
In 2001 Sinos fell pregnant to her first child and was overwhelmed with happiness. “Everything felt right”, she recalled. As usual she had to do some tests to see if she is healthy to carry the child, her world came crushing down when the tests showed she was HIV positive.
Hesitant to talk and clearing her throat, Sinos stated that she was in denial and couldn’t believe what she was told by the doctor. She was a loyal wife her whole life.
“As time went I simply denied that I was HIV positive and tried to pretend it wasn’t there, HIV didn’t hurt, you couldn’t really notice it, so it was easy to just pretend it wasn’t there”, she said.
Botswana has one of the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world. According to the 4th Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BAIS) conducted in 2013, the national HIV prevalence rate stands at 16.8 percent.
The survey shows that estimated annual HIV new infections is around 10,000 in the southern Africa country with a total population of 2.1 million.
But she had to accept her condition and move on for the sake of the baby’s life and her life. “If I had continued to deny the fact that I was HIV positive, I might not have taken the right precautions of taking medication, with little cuts on my fingers or things like that, and I could have hurt someone and I was always in pain. The anger was hurting me. I needed to be free,” said Sinos.
She took it upon herself that she is not alone in this. There were other people going through the same situation and she started serving her community and the country at large for the past 23 years as she believes she can save lives of her fellow countrymen and this was also her healing process.
She worked with different organisations, one of them being Botswana Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (BONEPWA+), whose members are both infected and affected by the disease.
As a national umbrella body formed in 2000 by and for people living with HIV, BONEPWA+ has a major function to coordinate and manage support groups for people with HIV by empowering them with skills, strategies, and to provide a friendly atmosphere to address their needs in a holistic manner and strengthen linkages between prevention, care and support services.
In 2014 UNAIDS announced that taking a fast-track approach over the next five years will allow the world to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
The fast track strategy outlines a set of targets that would need to be reached by 2020, including 90 percent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status; 90 percent of people who know their HIV-positive status on treatment; and 90 percent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.
Botswana is considered a leading example in the HIV response among developing countries. The Botswana government has invested heavily in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Up to 70 percent of all funds spent annually on the country’s HIV programs are from the government, the highest proportion among African countries, according to UNAIDS.
Botswana has also made great progress in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). While there is one HIV positive in every three pregnancy women in Botswana, only 2.2 percent infants born to HIV positive mothers were infected with the virus.
The diamond-rich country introduced PMTCT services in 1999 and is now widely available in health facilities across the country. Over 95 percent of pregnant women receive maternal care through public health services. The government also instituted routine HIV testing as part of antenatal care.
Botswana was also the first African country which vowed to provide its citizens with free access to HIV treatment. Statistics from UNAIDS indicated that in 2013, ART coverage of all infected adult and children is around 69 percent and 84 percent respectively.
Of all her effort to serve the community these years, Sinos still has challenges of being called names and belittled by some members of the community but this does not discourage her as she has a pure motive.
“I still get people who don’t appreciate what I am doing but it doesn’t matter because what I’m doing brings a positive change to others, I still get people calling me and thanking me for changing their lives. This shows at least something positive is coming out of this,” said Sinos. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
