HARARE Hospitals in the country are only offering CD4 counts to patients who have already tested positive for HIV.According to an Aids activists and the President of Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS Activists Network (ZHAAU), Bernard Nyathi, said the government should take preventative measures.
“The government should not wait until the disease is full blown in order to offer the CD4 count as it is better to treat HIV in its early stages,” said Nyathi.
Scores of people have been on the waiting list for a CD4 count for more than six months. They cannot afford the prohibitive US$35 that private hospitals currently charge.
According to Nyathi depriving people of the essential treatment is tantamount to a death sentence.
The situation for an AIDS patient is worse in rural areas where those wishing to be tested find it difficult to afford the necessary transport and medical costs.
“We have a member from Shamva who could not get treatment because he could not raise the US$10 that was required for an X-ray, we therefore are demanding that the government of Zimbabwe scraps all the fees at hospitals for AIDS patients as that should be covered by the AIDS levy that Zimbabwean tax payers contribute to. What is the money from Global fund being used for if people cannot access drugs,” said Nyathi.
Post published in: Analysis