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Patience Pays

Source:Humana People to People ChinaDate:2017-03-17 00:00:00Click:813

Liangshan Prefecture, Butuo County is one of the places with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in China. Some of the people are illiterate and have little knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS. Due to poverty and lack of knowledge some intravenous drug users in this area have exchanged needles which led to many being infected by HIV. Traditional beliefs also led the community to misunderstandings about HIV and unwillingness to seek medical services. TCE Field Officers work tirelessly to educate the community on the dangers of using drugs and exchanging needles, of the risks of premarital sex and also of the importance of visiting the hospital for medical services. The Field Officers on daily basis carry out door to door mobilization and HIV/AIDS education to the community. Now many more understand about HIV/AIDS and have undergone HIV testing so as to know their status and how to seek professional assistance in taking care of their health.

              Field Officers reach out to both young and old raising HIV/AIDS awareness.

Here a Field Officer tells about what he went through to change the mindset of a man who was HIV positive. This is what Field Officers come across in their daily work where some people are trapped in denial, disbelief, regret, fear, anger and lack of trust. The Field Officer’s passion, empathy, patience and the will to serve the people, helps them to manage such situations. They stick together with both infected, the affected and the community at large in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS.

On-site Monitoring and evaluation helps the Troop Commander (the project leader) to understand progress  in the field and where to focus.

“On my day to day visits I made it a point to pass through his homestead. He lives close by and he is a drug addict. He is one of the very first people in my field to be tested HIV positive. For 2 years I tried to mobilize the man to go for antiviral treatment and to raise his awareness about HIV/AIDS.  I tried many different methods and approaches to mobilize and educate him but to no avail. I understood his fear, fear of his condition and that of discrimination. Since I had an obligation to help him I did not give up. After many visits he was moved by my sincerity and decided to listen to me. I talked about HIV/AIDS, what it does to the body, antiviral treatment, about what is a good diet for HIV positive people, precautions to be taken by HIV positive people who want to have children, women’s reproductive health, the importance of antenatal care and the importance of hospital delivery. After many explanations and answering of questions he was enlightened and he apologized for his previous attitude. From then he adhered to antiviral treatment and also practiced safe sex. Many villagers started to come to him and to treat him like any other person in the village without discrimination. I also continued to visit and make follow ups on his progress. Not long ago his wife gave birth to a healthy child tested HIV negative.

                A Field Officer should have good ethics so as to gain respect from the community.

We might fear or discriminate against people living with HIV but in real life we should know that HIV is preventable and there is no need for exclusion or discrimination against those who are infected. We can save ourselves from being infected by staying away from drugs, paying attention to preventive measures and adhering to good sexual behavior. In this way our lives will be full of sunshine.”


A brief summary of the project:
TCE Butuo is a 3.5 years HIV/AIDS project operating in Butuo County, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.The idea of the project during the 3.5 years campaign is to achieve total control of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Butuo County reaching out to a population of 100 000 people. The project does one on one, door to door visits to all villagers reaching out to them with health education, mobilization and voluntary home based counseling and testing. The project furthermore involves a Passionate Network and training of local leaders and influential people who support in information dissemination and mobilization work. Health education provided by the project includes HIV/AIDS knowledge, basic knowledge about STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), mobilizing pregnant women for prenatal care and hospital delivery, providing condoms and explaining condom use to the sexually active singles and couples.

 

This project is funded by EU and HPP Baltic.
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents  of this publication are the solo responsibility of the Butuo Women Federation TCE Project  and can in no way be taken to reflect  the view of the Europen Union.

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