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Campaigner: Couples should test to reduce...
2008-03-03 09:06:03
By Rose Mwalongo
An anti-Aids campaigner has underscored the need for couples to undergo HIV/Aids testing before they decide to have babies to reduce risks of infecting the new borns.
Speaking at a seminar on HIV/Aids for members of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TFFA) held in Dar es Salaam over the weekend, Rose Mbeyella, a counselor with Angaza Centre for HIV/Aids Testing and Counseling, said: ``If you opt to have babies without testing, you might bring infected new borns.``
``Doing so will mean adding a burden to ones life and spending more time in hospitals thus reducing productivity. It could also mean killing the mother of the child,`` she added.
Mbeyella also said that people should let their brain control their bodies instead of allowing their bodies to command their brains if the war on the deadly HIV/Aids is to be won.
Mbeyella said indulging in sex brought short time pleasure but resulted in pains for the rest of one`s life.
She also underscored the need for couples to remain faithful to each other saying no religion condoned promiscuity.
Speaking earlier during the seminar, Deputy Commissioner for Customs and Excise Duty Godwell Mkingi said HIV/Aids was a global problem and a cross cutting issue that needed concerted efforts to fight it.
Mkingi said the society had been talking about protection agaisnt HIV/Aids, but had failed to notice that stigma was the major problem.
``Stigma kills more than the infection itself. Those infected are afraid to undergo testing and those infected are afraid to come public for fear of stigma, and as a result it ends up killing more people,`` said Mkingi.
He called upon the society to go for soul searching to see how they could treat people living with the pandemic.
TAFFA HIV/Aids Project Manager Shabani Geva said the seminar endeavoured to create awareness to its members to enable them to protect themselves, their families and avoid stigma.
He called upon the participants to relay the message to those who had not attended the seminar to enable them to fight the pandemic.
``I believe that it is possible to have TAFFA without HIV/Aids,`` said Geva.
He said TAFFA would conduct a similar seminar to staff and their family members in the near future.
The seminar was funded by Regional Facilitators Agencies under Tanzania Commission for Aids.
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