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“Preparing for death is significantly different than preparing for life,” said Zackie Achamati (2004) a famous AIDS victim who became an activist.
In this essay the author who is himself a youth activist asserts and doubles as a social movement champion argues that fighting poverty is the major way forward in our war against AIDS, he argues that poverty and HIV/AIDS are human rights issues and that governments have the obligation to provide medication to its poor citizens living with the weakened immune system As a result of HIV while advocating for behavior change in society as the major way forward in fighting the spread of the devastating disease. The author likens medication to food, water and electricity schooling; he discusses lessons that could be adopted by AIDS educators, activists and Governments relevant to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Medication is directly linked to poverty, in the majority of the world today, daily survival itself has become a form of defiance against social–economic forces that appear to be pushing people to the margins of markets, cities, institutions, communities, households and life itself, this apparent situation is very much evident in the African quarters where the writer is based., it is not worthy that there appears to be a conviction up to date that infection with HIV/AIDS is a death sentence, in our communities there continues to be a disbelief, denial, hopelessness and passivity of AIDS victims instead of accepting them and look for the way forward together, communities need to switch from this view point of passivity through the belief that an alternative is possible, activists with the help of their Governments need to move towards action and prove that living productively with HIV/AIDS is indeed achievable
Way Forward to Achieve MDGS - Victims Need to Become Activists
Experience has indicated that HIV/AIDS education and information campaigns by AIDS victims target the rational self. Giving statistical data on the spread of the disease, clinical advice and how to prevent infection change mind and behavior, AIDS educators and governments need to encourage infected and affected people to participate in AIDS campaigns in all spheres.
AIDS Information needs to be designed and delivered in local languages by people who speak with the authority of their own experience, there is need to combine emotion and rational understanding, empathy and the ability to explain scientific issues regarding HIV/AIDS.
It is incumbent upon all citizens of the world to realize that poverty it is not a private issue or individual affliction but instead a public issue that must be tackled collectively because it needs confrontation with powerful bodies and voices in society that may consider their own interests rather than those infected and affected.
If we are to defeat HIV/AIDS and achieve the subsequent Millennium Development Goals, there is a need for social movement supporters, AIDS educators, etc. to redefine themselves as activists. On behalf of the victims, there is a great need to combine pedagogy with politics, being dispassionate or even being distant observers is not likely to assist.
We must recognize that HIV/AIDS has a direct relationship to poverty, is a well established fact that the majority of vulnerable people have their social and economic status desiring, they lack access to land, power and even means of production, newly infected cases are not only promiscuous men or sex workers, we must therefore double our effort in our fights against all aspects of poverty.
To conclude, I would like to argue that people need to learn to act democratically by being democratic and that activist based initiatives especially youth ones contribute to a functioning democracy, deepening democracy remains the major way of solving poverty and inequality in society, it is in this way that the public will be able to link their heath, policy, collective action for justice and living while being alive. Together we can make our world a better place to live in.
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Mugerumani
Karekoona was born in Uganda-East Africa. He is an ornithologist by profession & lives a nomadic lifestyle. He currently resides in Germany.
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