Bakithi lithini ngalendaba yokuthi nxa umuntu ebulewe yi H.I.V izihlobo zakhe zibikele wonke umhlaba. If the deceased had an intention of telling anybody, he or she would have done so whilst they were still alive, shouldnt we respect that?

UMadiba is an old man. I think usesenza izinto engacabanganga kakhulu. Thats all ican say ngodaba lolu mfo

Mandela is trying to fight the stigma associated with AIDS. His point is that as long as this diseaase is kept a secret, we will never win the fight to control it. If this disease did not carry such a heavy stigma, all people would get tested, and those who are positive be on ARVs, get counselling, and other forms of support. Loba amadrugs ekhona, mina ngibona ingani balutshwana kakhulu abantu abazimisele ukuhlolwa igazi, because they fear stigmatisation more than dying from this disease. Mandela is encouraging the World to fight stigma. His campaign gains more weight, if he joins as an affected party. I believe he did a commendable thing. In Africa we have leaders who pretend that they are perfect and that misfortunes only happen to others. If we start accepting AIDS as a disease that can afflict us like flu, cancer TB, singayangeki, I think it will be easy for people to seek treatment early, before its too late.

I have heard people arguing that the dignity of the dead should be protected. Its a tricky ethical issue. Kodwa mina ngibona ingani UMandela wenze into eqondileyo ngokubika ukuthi uMakgatho ubulewe yiAIDS.

Uyazi abantu basuka bakhohlwe ukuthi iAIDS is an STD. Ukuba le STD is shameful no matter what. uMandela has his 66whatever campaign yakhe going on, so he thought it was a wise thing ukuthi atshele umhlaba wonke ukuthi umtanakhe ubulewe yi AIDS.
With all due respect, umtomdala got it wrong. It does mean ukuthi umuntu engafa you stop respecting them. If Makgatho wanted the whole world to know that he had AIDS, im sure he would have prefered to do it himself.
The thing here is uMandela was on a hiding to nothing regarding this issue. By this i mean that had he just kept quiet abantu were going to say he is a hypocrite. Having done what he has now, others say he is a hypocrite.
But the fact remains:- respect the dead

uMandela is jus being the bigger person ,at a time when everyone is buryin their heads in the sand & pretending Aids does not exit ,or it only affects the pooh & the unfortunate.Someone has to take the high road .

I am shocked ukuzwa ukuthi iStd/Aids iya yangisa ngoba without a doubt wonke umuntu ovela ko Xamu knows a friend,relative ,schoolmate ,neighbour & the list goes on osewasi tshiyayo nge Aids.So kuyangisa ubani???So okungcono yikuphi..ukufa kumbe uya yangeka.??It pains me ukuzwa abantu be questioner imotive kaMadiba !!!!???###kambe shuwa with all the effort that Mandela has done to make the world a betta place sithi engakhulumi ukuthi UMNTANAKHE ubulewe yini.
uNkomo wathi umtanakhe ubulewe yini???Great leaders will always say wat needs to be said not wat we always want to hear ,that's wat makes them great


There is nothing that Mandela stands to gain ngoku khuluma ngemfa yomtanakhe except to raise awareness to everyone ukuthi iAids knows no social status umtaka presidante kumbe uyinjombi sonke siyofana

Mthwakazi lets join hands & fight i aids.Asimeni ukube sibisela emuva abalwa layo ngoku landela imikhuba ezaku qeda isizwe.Khathesi iAids sokuyi Disaster ,we need to use wateva means r available to make pple aware ukuthi everyone is at risk

Mina ngithi phambili Madiba with yo selfless effort yoku vula abantu amehlo nge ngculazi..

Surely most people know by now ukuthi H.I.V/A.I.D.S does not discriminate against anyone. For as long as you are having unprotected sex you put yourself at risk even if you are Mandela's relation. But my problem here is why disclose when the person is dead when surely it would have had a greater impact if he had said it whilst he was alive. I'm sure Mandela, Buthelezi and all the others knew prior to their children's death what they were suffering from, why didnt they tell the world then? Let those with H.I.V/A.I.D.S disclose on their own free will and if they dont do it before they die, so be it!

While it is true that a big percentage of people get HIV through sex, we can not just go on saying AIDS is shameful because it is an STD. It is more than an STD. There are many people who have HIV/AIDS who never had sex. Think of all those little children suffering from it. Think of people who got it through contact with contaminated blood.

We must fight the feeling of shame, and get treated. Shame becomes problematic if it stops us from seeking treatment and advice from professionals. Many people go to doctors when it is too late, because of THE FEAR OF SHAME. Kanti vele khona ukufihla umkhuhlane lenhloni kusinceda ngani shuwa?

IT IS BETTER TO CONQUER STIGMATISATION AND LIVE, THAN TO NURSE IT, AND DIE.

There are thousands of people who died, but who could be alive today, if only they could have had the courage to conquer fear and get treatment and counselling, and live healthier lives. Mina ngibona ingani umkhuhlane ungawemukela ukuthi ulawo, uphila ngcono, njalo usuka uziphathe ngcono. Eat the right foods, get medication, seek counselling, join support groups. Kungcono kakhulu lokhu, kulokudinga abathakathi abangekho, umuntu ezikhohlisa nje. Uzwe umuntu esithi, ngaloywa ngubani wakobani.


Mandela did a good thing. Ntumba, Mandela commands moral authority in this world, and has universal respect. He is likely to have more impact when he talks about AIDS, than his son. Mina ngithi loba engakhulumanga esaphila umntanakhe, akulandaba. Into ekhona yikuthi Mandela is showing that AIDS is everyone's disease, and we need not be ashamed of it.

Similarly you would remember that Kenneth Kaunda was the first former head of state to tell the World that his son died of AIDS. He is one the of the World's leading campaigners against stigmatisation.

Bafowethu.

Esintwini bekuvele kusazakala ukuthi into engalunganga ithiwa bhadla ebandla. Yikho sakhula sihlekana nxa omunye esenza iphutha, ukwenzela ukuthi umuntu eyejwayele ukuchothozwa, kungabi yinto entsha kuye. Yikho lokhu okwenza abalamhlanje besabe ukukhuphela egcekeni inhlupho zabo, kube yikho lokhu okuthiwa "STIGMA".

Bantu, umkhuhlane ususiqedele izihlobo. Okusekhanda lapha yikuthi ubikwe umuntu esaphila loba esefile na??? U MAKHOSAZANA uyibeke kuhle indaba phezulu lapha.

Nxa umuntu esaphila, kazibike yena. Nxa ethandile, kacele izihlobo zibike. Lokhu kuzakwenza ukuthi isizwe senqabele ukubhaha komkhuhlane bantu. Nxa umuntu esefile, umndeni kangiboni ukuthi ulecala lokubika lokho okudle owangakwabo. Lokhu kuyasifundisa thina esiseleyo ukuthi loba sihamba, sazi ukuthi banengi abalayo. Ngaleyo ndlela sizakhuthala siyifune indlela yokwenqabela lesi sifo.

SINGESABI BAFOWETHU. IMBUBE IBITHI INGATSHAYA AMANKONYANE, AMADODA ADOBHE IZAGILA LEMIKHONTO IZINGELWE.

Li Zwangendaba.

Qoutable Qoute from Mail & Guardian Online

"To come out and to say somebody has died because of HIV... people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary, as an illness reserved to people who are going to go to hell and not heaven," Mandela said.

Kuyazwakala elikushoyo bafowethu labo dadewethu njalo kuyabongeka ukuthi you are so open minded abt the whole disclosure issue but mina I think the stigma will never go away until people stand up when they are still alive and tell people oftheir status. The whole after death disclosure does not move me at all. Mina ngikholwa ngokubona. We need people to see what HIV does to a person before he or she dies. Show its effects using real examples and not by word of mouth only

Indaba enje yenza ucabake kanengi ngale i confidentiality conspiracy of silence of people's HIV status. Was it alcohol that drove this cantakerous buffoon to rape his mother in such a brutal manner or was it the a gross reaction to the knowledge of his HIV status?? Who knows??

Incest plus HIV??


Kambe would we still experience such high rates of new HIV infections if HIV testing was mandatory? Does confidentiality not promote the spread of the virus ngoba we leave the responsibility of NOT spreading the virus to people who are clamouring to secrecy?? Is that not a contradiction in itself?

Is it not time to re-think this confidentiality position ngoba society at large is not being protected from infection from those of us who are infected?? Kuncedani ukukhala usuliphethe igcikwane??

Mina ngibona kuyinto eqakathekileyo ukuthi nxa umuntu ethole lumkhuhlane we ngculasi, akwenze kube sobala njenge mikhuhlane yonke.

Abantu abanengi babona kuyinto eyangisayo ukuthi kuthiwe ulomkhuhlane kumbe amagciwane eHIV. Lokhu kwenziwa kahulu yikuthi kawelapheki njalo utholakala kakhulu emacansini. Lokhu kwenza ukuthi lo obanjwe yila magciwane azibona esezakufa njalo kungathi ufela ezamacansi.

Kuqakathekile ukuthi abantu bakwazi ukuthi akusi kuthanda icansi okwenza umuntu athole la magciwane. Njalo kumele abamaziyo lumuntu babekwazi. Bangamgconi njalo benga meyisi.

Into ezwisa ubuhlungu manj' yikuthi the HIV infection rate is increasing kakhulu in Sourthen Africa than other regions and "nothing" has yet been done to help reduce infection.

Contest in AIDS-ravaged Botswana aims to fight stigma
Updated: 6:38 a.m. ET Feb. 27, 2005GABORONE,

Botswana - A Botswana beauty pageant crowned 32-year-old Cynthia Leshomo “Miss HIV” on Sunday in a contest aimed at fighting the stigma of the killer disease that has infected more than a third of the population.

advertisement

The twelve contestants — aged 21 to 35 and coached by Miss Botswana 2004 — strutted on a catwalk in front of almost 500 people at an exclusive hotel resort in the capital Gaborone. They said they wanted to show there was life after an HIV diagnosis.

“This beauty pageant is a beauty pageant but it is beauty with a purpose,” said Leshomo as friends and well-wishers thronged the stage following her win in the early hours of the morning.

“We should pull everybody out of that fear of stigmatism," she said.

Botswana has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, but has used its diamond wealth to provide life-prolonging anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.

However, campaigners say many sufferers are unwilling to have tests, put themselves forward for treatment or talk about the disease.

Many of the contestants in the pageant, now in its third year, are voluntary counselors or health workers. As well as sashaying up and down the catwalk, they answered questions on their attitudes to AIDS and stigmatism.

“Look at me. I’m attractive. I’m HIV positive. What’s the big deal?” contestant Anna Ratotsisi told the crowd. But locals say many will still refuse to share cooking utensils or living space with HIV-infected people for fear of contracting the disease.

Threat of 'annihilation'
Leshomo, who works as an AIDS counselor, will receive a scholarship, free beauty treatment and a monthly allowance after winning the contest.

She will also travel around the sparsely-populated country trying to educate young people about the disease, which President Festus Mogae says threatens Botswana with “annihilation.”

Around 37 percent of the population is infected, according to U.N. figures.

Part of the aim of the pageant — funded by a local charity backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and drug giant Merck as well as by major local investors such as mineral giant De Beers and British bank Barclays — was to show that AIDS drugs work.

“That is at the heart of it,” Brad Ryder, spokesman for the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership, said. “Botswana was the first country in Africa to provide publicly funded ARVs. People in Washington and Geneva said it couldn’t be done. Botswana has proved them wrong.”

Organizers said similar competitions might be run in neighboring South Africa and Namibia while current Miss Botswana, 21-year-old student Juby Peacock, said the country could soon even see an openly HIV positive Miss Botswana.

“I think it could happen quite soon,” she said. “People are getting open to talking about their HIV status.”

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

Dokotela

Ngiyakuzwa ngokulwisana le stigma kanye lawe Saduva. I tend to believe that the fight against the spread of TB and Cholera as examples; is more aggressive than the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. There is a certain mysterious flexibility shrouded in HIV prevention in this confidentiality issue. For the former there is contact tracing and quarantine respectively. How does the health system get on top of the situation if we do not control the infection hosts?? Is that control not necessary really?? Kufanele na ukuthi ngekelwe ngigcwalisa igcikwane all over the place ngoba ngingazi ukuthi ngilithwele?? Is that a reasonable excuse? Ignorance should not be allowed to be a self-defense strategy in this issue either.

Lingekelelani bandla ngihamba ngidubula ngiphethe inhlamvu zokufa and leaving the responsibility NOT to shoot to me?? Angithi lamasotsha nje adubula nxa u commander etshilo njalo yikho behlala bodwa behlukaniswe labantukazana?? Libona njani?

What the health sector can only do is to encourage people to go for tests and avail that information to people that interact with them. The limitation comes from the laws that govern access and transmission of personal information.

The behavioral change and eschewing of careless sex is also encouraged, although it also has limits. Every person is expected to ensure that they are not subjected to risks, this means, practically the health system is unable to control the spread of the disease. Reduction of HIV spreading is neccessary and would be very salubrious, but would not be possible until done from the hosts side.

What the health sector can only do is to encourage people to go for tests and avail that information to people that interact with them. The limitation comes from the laws that govern access and transmission of personal information.

The behavioral change and eschewing of careless sex is also encouraged, although it also has limits. Every person is expected to ensure that they are not subjected to risks, this means, practically the health system is unable to control the spread of the disease. Reduction of HIV spreading is neccessary and would be very salubrious, but would not be possible until done from the hosts side.

Siyazixhanxatha ulimi lapha Dokotela. Unless and until we arrest the spread of this scourge from source "the host", all of these ongoing wonderful efforts are doomed! Any problem solving approach demands correct identification of the source of the problem and addressing the corrective measures at that point.

How can a morally responsible health delivery system hide behind an inadequate legal framework for it's inability to legalise such a problem as HIV/AIDS?? Is it not paradoxical to expect the control of that scourge to come from the same source? I think if we were really serious about HIV/AIDS control we would do something about the restrictive laws. Is the upholding of laws more important than people's lives?

yeyi madoda indaba leyi elikhuluma ngayo yindaba enkulu kakhulu.Mina njengomuntu olengculazi indaba yenu ingithwalise nzima.Mina l think most people abalengculazi it's because we were promiscous...as in my case ngoba ngangilala ebhawa so i was not protective of my life and for sure l got what l deserved but since l was diagonised as having AIDS l have never slept with a woman and that was in 1997 and l have never touched any alcohol and l know that very sooner or later i will be no more.l feel guilty for those men like me who look for the disease from the everywhere then pass them to their innocent woman.l feel very guilty indeed.Honestly if we men change our habits then the world will be free of AIDS in the next 50 years.As for stigimisation we people with AIDS don't feel it in all honestly...We know our destiny and most of us are prepared

Jeqe

Your signature reads:

quote:

---

ijikamsila ugodlwayo omnyama njengempisi umahlabayithwale...hiya!!

---

Uzitsho kahle izibongo zikaGodlwayo omuhle ngempela baba, although someone alleged that they go further to say that:

UGodlwayo omuhle,

quote:

---

Umalobola luphakathi

---

Uyindoda baba, Mthwakazi needs honest men like you. You correctly conclude that you probably got this dreaded HIV/AIDS phenomenon via unprotected sex during your heydays at beerhall gardens. This is a very effective warning to all and sundry that let us all take collective responsibility for our actions. Our young people reading your article will learn a lot indeed.

The cure lies with us taking proactive and protective actions: the best medicine is to ABSTAIN completely but I know amajaha amanengi would not agree with me on this one. Abanye bazothi ngifuna ukuchitha isizwe hk hk

Hawuuuuuuu Jeqe fika kuhle Nduna yako Godlwayo. Sisuka silahlekelwe ngamazwi aqondileyo jaha elibanzi ngemva kokufunda lokhu okulobe lapha. Kuzwakele Baba njalo kwamkelekile!

Fundani lapha libone ukuthi inzima kanjani li ndaba ye disclosure!

HIV Teens taking more risks

Jeqe,

Hawu uyindoda baba. Qhubeka ufundisa isizwe. Alubana abantu bonke bamela iqiniso njengawe, ukuthi ingqobe isebantwini besilisa ngabe lumkhuhlane awuzange umemetheke. Isintu sivele siyasilela ekukhuliseni abantu besilisa ngoba amajaha are socialised wrongly to believe that indoda yinja, ngakho bavunyelwe to be promiscous so to speak. Kuze kuthi loba umuntu esethethe, ufice eziphatha ingani usejele emzini wakhe, ngakho uyabe ephethe edlubulunda edinga abanye abafazi ngasese. Ungabheka, abantu besifazane kanengi baziphatha ngcono kakhulu endabeni zamacansi, ngoba bakhulisa ngaleyondlela ukuthi kumele baziphathe, bangabi yizinyefu.

We ultimately as human beings face the same fate Jeqe. Sonke singabantu as mere mortals sizakufa. Its a question of how sooner or later we will die. Abantu abalawo lumkhuhlane akumelanga babone ingani ukufa kudalelwe bona bodwa. ukufa ngokomuntu wonke. Umehluko usekuthini mhlawumbe umuntu nxa egula usuka acabange ngakho, ukwedlula labo abangelawo.

I would like to end by saying that disclosure of HIV positive status is good, because I believe it gives one the strength to face the condition. Jeqe I would like to disagree with you on the point that there are people who deserve to have this disease. No person in this world deserves to be afflicted with this dreadful disease. Khepha angitsho ukuthi ukungaziphathi kuqondile.

Counseling is required before a person can disclose his/her HIV status. Once allthis is handled properly there is fewer proplems to be encountered than having to live in fear and shocking people when the symptoms reflect a fully blown phase.

I insist that it is vital to be truthful about your HIV status, so as to make things easy for yourself and others around you.

jeqe,uyindoda emadodeni.please mthwakazi lets do away with denial.i HIV ikhona and nxa singatshiyana le stereotype yakudala then we will combat this disease.
pliz bakithi CONDOMIZE

Jeqe, ngicela ukuphinda amagama avele eseshiwo abanye, ngithi uyindoda emadodeni. Ungathi ngabe wonke umuntu ophila ngalesi sifo angafana nawe.

Since there really is no sign of finding a cure in the near future, and the epidemic is still on the rise despite all the efforts and awareness campaigns, maybe it's time to take drastic measures. Maybe the powers that be need to consider compulsory testing and quarantining the affected parties to stop the spread. I know it sounds cruel, but the result would justify the means.

Nanso-ke into ebikade ngiyikhalela, Jeqe baba iyancomeka kakhulu lento oyenzileyo. Ngiyathemba ayipheleli kuforum kuphela. I also appreciate the fact that uyavuma ukuthi you brought it upon yourself and have accepted it.

Jeqe, kubuhlungu lokhu mnewethu whether yindaba yakho or not, okuqathekileyo yikuthi u did not turn the other way hoping it will go away.Kula bantu abayabe be cabangela ukuthi bale HIV kodwa bengayi ku test, two things here, if you suspect ukuthi ungabe uinfected hamba for a test, the sooner u start treatment, the longer you are likely to stay alive and by disclosing your status means you can get in touch with you ex-partner/s ubazisa ukuthi there need to go for a test so that labo they can start i treatment if they are infected as well.
The biggest hurdle here must be coming to terms with living le HIV and to keep it to themselves its not only 'selfish'( l'm using this word very cautiously) but they are also depriving themselves of the support and care from people who love and care about them. l'm sure sonke lapha have lost loved ones to AIDS and not all of them died because they were careless with their lives and certainly had nothing to be shameful about, being HIV positive or having AIDS is not a shameful thing, yinto ebuhlungu kakhulu and sufferers need not suffer in silence.

Bakwethu!

Uxolo sizwe sika Mthwakazi! Ngiyabuyela njalo embuzweni wami wakudala mayelana le legal framework and moral responsibility of the health delivery system ku HIV prevention. Nxa sivumelana ukuthi ukuba HIV positive need not be a shameful thing and should not necessarily ignite a stigma response from society, lokuthi ukwazisa amanye ama contacts ngokuphangisa nge HIV + status yakho ukuze lawo athole iearly treatment is a noble step......I am still at a loss about this "confidentiality" mystery upheld by the Ministries of Health.

Ngingaba le Diabetes namuhla kumbe iBP kumbe i Epilespy, kuyaziswa abemuli ukuthi sengilo mkhuhlane onje ukuze bangisize to manage a new lifestyle demanded by the new illness. Ngingaba le HIV sekusiba kimi to do the "telling" and yet HIV therapy is only palliative njengale mikhuhlane eqanjweyo and carries a much much higher mortality and morbidity risk.

HIV cripples not just the health delivery system but the entire economy. Who then does this confidentiality clause serve bandla?? Does it not perpetuate the multiplication and spread of the virus?? Should health systems not be more aggressive ikakhulu nxa kuthiwa in Africa alone 90million siyalandela soon? Why shroud the virus kanti?? Does the confidentiality not perpertuate the stigmatization of the illness?

FORMER Mighty Warriors striker Yesmore Mutero has died.

She was 25.

Mutero disclosed her HIV status and alleged that a former member of the technical team had infected her with the deadly virus and later dumped her.

************
the saga continues.

One of the worst cases of AIDS related death toll, will be experienced in Southern African Countries. AIDS awareness and STI prevention has reduced drammatically in East Africa, Central and North Africa.

The behavioural tendencies of Sourthen African poeple have not changed significantly for the past 10 to 20 years. Many of our brothers and sisters are involved in premarital unprotected sex.

What i can say is that, we shall be left with no choice but to expose our HIV status. But the sooner the better.

One of the worst cases of AIDS related death toll, will be experienced in Southern African Countries. AIDS awareness and STI prevention has reduced drammatically in East Africa, Central and North Africa.

The behavioural tendencies of Sourthen African poeple have not changed significantly for the past 10 to 20 years. Many of our brothers and sisters are involved in premarital unprotected sex.

What i can say is that, we shall be left with no choice but to expose our HIV status. But the sooner the better.