Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 24 September 2000
The initiative, ARCHI 2010, focuses on the 10 most pressing issues in public health in Africa, including vaccine preventable diseases, malaria, malnutrition and HIV/AIDS. It will work by mobilising a network of up to two million Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers across the continent and by scaling up programmes and cooperation with partner organisations.
The conference's public forum on health was dominated by discussions on HIV/AIDS, which is threatening to eradicate whole generations of Africans. On behalf of African National Societies, David Mukasa of the Ugandan Red Cross made a call for action on HIV/AIDS, declaring it a humanitarian disaster, calling for the National Societies to scale up their commitment to HIV/AIDS programmes and asking the Federation and donors to launch a continent-wide appeal that would fund this work.
Mukasa, who is an active counsellor for the HIV/AIDS Network in Uganda, and who is himself infected with the virus, gave a moving testimony of living with HIV. He described first becoming ill in 1989, then seeing his health deteriorate after being diagnosed with the disease. His mother took him home to care for him and his health began to improve.
Although again testing positive, he decided to act positive and accept his status, taking a part-time job and becoming involved in HIV/AIDS counselling and education. "If you're involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and share your experiences, it's like therapy and your quality of life improves, though you are always conscious of your mortality," he told the conference room.
A second testimony came from Josephine Chiturumani, a Zimbabwe Red Cross home care worker, who gave a vivid account of her experiences: from bathing and feeding patients in their homes, to her pain at their deaths - after years of her care. Josephine said more than half her fellow care workers were also infected.
"We know how it feels to live with AIDS; this year alone, I've lost four people." Josephine also described her despair when faced with more than 500 AIDS orphans in her district: "You feel useless when a small child asks for money to look after younger siblings." The Zimbabwe Red Cross provides day care centres for children under five, as well as clubs where peer educators can teach youth about the dangers of AIDS. "Love, care and support are what people living with AIDS really need," Josephine said. "The whole community should get involved - everybody should get that support."
The Namibian Red Cross gave a puppet show illustrating the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness - the National Society has found this an effective way of getting the message across to people. HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, who has just visited three African countries, said she was shaken by the depth of suffering she had witnessed during her visits but that there were nevertheless positive signs. She quoted examples of Red Cross youth-peer education, incorporating role play and games to convey messages not only of abstinence and fidelity, but also instruction about contraceptives and protection.
Summing up the public forum debate, the President of the Federation, Astrid Heiberg, said there was a willingness both to focus on HIV/AIDS and to scale up Red Cross/Red Crescent action. President Heiberg - a trained psychiatrist - said people only changed their behaviour when they were emotionally touched - by family and friends. As Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers come from the communities themselves, they are the Movement's greatest resource. "Together we can make it," she said.
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