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HIV status quo

In the last row the wooden benches creak. The Lutheran Church in Maun is well attended on this sunny March day in Botswana. Many want to hear what the pastor preaches. But it is not the priest who speaks to them today, but Stella Sarwanyane. The 52 year old is a bit on the heart - what she has to say will make many visitors to tears later. "Thank God I'm still alive! I can lead a normal life today, but I ask you: be careful! Everyone can become infected with HIV, young or old. The way I got infected. "

About HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 was discovered by the French virologists Luc Montagnier and Francois Barré-Sinoussi in the year 1983. A positive antibody test means that an infection with the virus has taken place. The infected must therefore have neither symptoms nor disease symptoms. The virus comes from the monkey and was probably in the first half of 20. Century transferred to humans.

AIDS
The HI virus can lead to a massive weakening of the immune system during the infection. Being ill with AIDS means that either particular pathogens use the weakness of the immune system to trigger infections. Or that certain tumors occur as a result. Left untreated, the disease can lead to death in many cases.

Research
Modern medicine is now able to give HIV-positive people a completely normal life. Even the transmission of the virus can be prevented by the so-called antiretroviral therapy. But access to this therapy is denied to many, especially in developing countries.

"And suddenly it was too late!"

The South African country of Botswana has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world - around one third of adults are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). But the topic is a social taboo, infected people are often socially stigmatized. All the more touches the public speech of Stella Sarwanyane. She has made it her mission to point out, to enlighten, to break the taboo. That might have saved them from being infected by the HI virus twenty years ago, she says. "At the time, I thought that only those who have sex with many people get HIV. But not me, because I only had sex with my partner. I trusted him, but that was a big mistake. He did not tell me that he also has intercourse with other women. And suddenly it was too late! "

"The death rate has dropped significantly and people have as good a quality of life as if they had never been infected. Even the lifespan is similarly long. "
AIDS expert Norbert Vetter

Huge progress in medicine

Stella Sarwanyane shares her fate with around 35 millions of people who were infected with HIV worldwide in 2013. In the same year, 2,1 millions have re-infected - but these are just the official numbers. Nobody can really estimate the number of unreported cases. In Austria, about 500 people get involved every year. The good news, after all: The number of new infections is slowly getting smaller, because modern medicine has made great progress since the virus was discovered in 1983. With their help, HIV-positive people today can live with almost no restrictions - the onset of the autoimmune syndrome AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) can already be prevented very well, explains AIDS expert Norbert Vetter: "The death rate has fallen significantly and the people have as good a quality of life as if they had never been infected. Even the lifespan is similarly long. "This was made possible by the so-called antiretroviral therapy (ARV), a cocktail of active ingredients in tablet form. When ingested daily, it causes the HI virus to completely disappear from the blood. But this only works as long as the therapy is consistently applied. In layman's terms, the viruses do not disappear, they only hide. If the therapy is stopped, they would reappear immediately and multiply. That's why HIV is still considered incurable.

Facts

35 Millions of people worldwide were infected with the HI virus in 2013

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, around 78 million people have been infected and 39 million have died of AIDS

The infection rate is declining: worldwide, around 2013 million 2,1 infected people with HIV. 2001 it was still 3,4 million.

70 percent of new infections take place in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 37 percent of all infected people have access to antiretroviral therapy
Source: UNAIDS report 2013

HIV tests are difficult to access

Even transmission of the virus can be prevented by ARV therapy, says Vetter: "High-risk couples, where a partner is HIV-positive, can prevent infection by having the HIV-negative partner do the treatment before sex. And ARV can help even when it's already too late. If you start the treatment immediately after the risky sexual intercourse or a needlestick injury, it can be prevented that the virus is established. "In Vienna, the AKH and the Otto Wagner Hospital offer such prophylaxis. But they work only up to a maximum of 72 hours after the contact. This can only happen if infected people also know that they are infected. And that's still the main problem. Therefore, experts such as Norbert Vetter have long been advocating that HIV tests are more accessible: "You can buy a pregnancy test in the pharmacy, if you think you are pregnant. But you can not buy a quick test if you're afraid of getting HIV. With such tests and a drop of blood you can be sure within twenty minutes. "But in Austria and many other countries, the hurdle HIV test is still too high, because rapid tests are very difficult to get, especially in the pharmacy , Proof that medicine is much wider than society - for many, the topic is still taboo, especially conservative circles like to exclude it. Social acceptance is the basic prerequisite for getting the virus under control. And eventually eradicate it completely.

Slowly ...

But humanity is still a long way from that in the year 2015. The successes against the global pandemic are distributed very differently across the globe. The sub-Saharan states, including Botswana, are responsible for a total of 70 percent of new infections. First of all, this is because many people do not have access to medical achievements there. Only slightly more than a third of all people infected with HIV worldwide receive ARV therapy. Conversely, it can be assumed that almost two-thirds eventually develop AIDS. And continue to have many opportunities to transmit the HIV virus. Although the infection rates in developing countries are falling as well, this only happens very slowly.

... but steady!

In Botswana, the government supports infected people by paying for ARV therapy. A costly affair in a country where around one-third of adults are HIV-positive. But people have also learned to handle the virus and see it for what it is: as part of their everyday lives. To find out more, I visit the Maun Homeopathy Project in Botswana. A small clinic in the busy center of the 50.000-inhabitant city of Maun. Funded through donations, with a waiting room and a treatment room. HIV patients get the support of homeopathy there. Stella Sarwanyane is one of them too. When the clinic was founded in 2002, she was the very first patient.

Today her daughter Lebo Sarwanyane also works there: "Many people can not accept that they are HIV-positive. The shock determines her life, makes her sad and angry. But with these negative emotions, the body is poorly able to accept antiretroviral therapy. We help them to accept their illness and help their bodies to process the medicine. "35 provides the Maun Homeopathy Project every day with the homeopathic tablets - here in Maun and in remote villages. Altogether, these were around 3.000 patients. The charity project has changed a lot since Hilary Fairclough founded it: "When we came to Botswana, we saw the people here suffer from HIV and AIDS. In the end, many die alone. I knew that homeopathy can help the traumatized society - that's why we started the project. "

A cultural problem

At the Maun Homeopathy Project, I also learn more about how the HI virus spread so much in a country like Botswana. High unemployment and poverty leaves many families at a loss. They hardly know the answers to the question of how to make a living. Many find her in prostitution, says Irene Mohiemang from the Maun Homeopathy Project: "A girl often has to support the whole family because she's the only one who can make money from sex. And they usually get more money if they do not use a condom. "Many enter into this tragic business, and many charitable organizations are making condoms available for free:" We distribute them in villages, in shopping malls, in public toilets , You can even get condoms in taxis, so even the drunk have some at night, "explains Lebo Sarwanyane. But condoms are frowned upon in many African cultures. Culture, religion and society are a major issue, Irene Mohiemang regrets: "Men have the right to do whatever they want - it's a patriarchal system. And poligamy is still deeply rooted in our culture. So many men have sex with many women - their wives usually do not know about it. That's how they bring the virus into the family. "

"Men have the right to do whatever they want - it's a patriarchal system. And poligamy is still deeply rooted in our culture. So many men have sex with many women - their wives usually do not know about it. That's how they bring the virus into the family. "
Lebo Sarwanyane, Maun Homeopathy Project, on the situation in Botswana

Although the awareness of HIV has become stronger. The government is trying to develop it through information campaigns. And not only that: "For five years, there have been very high prison sentences in Botswana for those who infect another, even though they knew of their own infection. And some are actually arrested. That's a good thing, "says Sarwanyane. But in addition to stricter laws, it would take a cultural rethink - and that would be extremely tedious: "Women just can not accept it anymore if her husband has sex with other women. When he gets home at four in the morning, they have to ask him where he's been and not just be quiet and accept everything. But that would be a huge change in our culture. It's very difficult to do that. "

Lebo knows what she's talking about. It was her mother Stella who lacked that same self-confidence. It would probably have saved her from infection with the HI virus. But Stella has now learned to live with the virus. Modern medicine, especially antiretroviral therapy, has made this possible. And the "Maun Homepathy Project" was a great support for her. In my conversation with Stella, there is an emotional ambivalence that becomes more apparent the longer we talk. She looks cheerful, on the one hand - makes jokes and laughs a lot. But her stories are constantly accompanied by a serious undertone. She has not had a partner for 20 years - the risk of infecting him is too high. Stella has experienced a lot. And although the topic is still socially sensitive, she wants to share her experiences with as many people as possible. Because Stella Sarwanyane has recognized that educating and raising awareness before all the research is the most promising strategy to finally get the HI virus under control: "I visit many villages, big and small, and learn about HIV. Many do not understand what happens to them when they are HIV-positive - and many want to kill themselves. I show them how they can help each other, and homeopathy plays a big role. That's my mission. God has helped me and I am now trying to pass on this help. "
The soundscape in the Lutheran church of Maun has changed a bit. Under the creaking of the wooden benches now mixed occasional sobs. Stella's courageous speech was not only the break with a delicate taboo, but above all an appeal to her fellow human beings. - It touched the mood of many here in a nutshell.

HIV & Homeopathy

The alternative medical treatment method is understood here as a supplement to conventional ARV therapy. The highly diluted active ingredients are taken in tablet form and should help the body to activate its natural self-healing powers. So homeopathy should help the body to better accept ARV therapy - and create emotional stability for living with the virus. Although many school doctors like to suggest that homeopathy is just a pseudoscience and that the treatment has no demonstrable effect. But here in Maun many will contradict them.

Written by Jakob Horvat

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