Kristy Siegfried from the UN funded website PlusNews visited Usisya at the end of 2006 to report on the difficulties faced by people suffering from HIV and AIDS in this area

Late November 2006 saw the visit of Kristy Siegfried, who is a reporter for the UN website www.plusnews.org, a dedicated international HIV and AIDS news service. Kristy travelled from South Africa to report on the staggering plight of HIV and AIDS and the difficulties facing its treatment in isolated areas such as Usisya.

Before making the trip Kristy contacted Temwa with various questions about Usisya town and the issue of arriving there, so we arranged transport for her (her trip would have been practically impossible otherwise..!) and helped out organising interviews with the hospital and local CBO’s (Community Based Organisations).

Kristy was in Usisya for two days and stayed for one night, during which time she met several people affected by the virus and witnessed first-hand the difficulty they have in receiving antiretroviral (ARV) medication. ARV’s can prolong someone’s life after they have discovered they have AIDS. Although the ARV’s are free, the main problems they face is transport and funds for their journey: medication is only available in Nkhata Bay, which is a day's boat ride away. This journey can take anywhere between 4-10 hours; there is a ferry but it only makes the trip once a week, making a 6-day stay necessary each time anybody goes for treatment. Many patients cannot afford the journey or the costs of accommodation and food while they are in Nkhata Bay. They can sometimes miss months of treatment and possibly die if they don’t have the means to pay for the trip. Even when they do make it to Nkhata Bay, the level of treatment administered is extremely basic, with most staff having received only 10 weeks of training.

The report underlined also the local stigma there is surrounding the virus, obscuring the problem even further, and the urgent need for extra funding, with very little being available for training, resources, or much needed educational materials and outreach programs.

Kristy commented on the educational program ‘Stepping Stones’ operated by Temwa – the only one available in Usisya - and the success that this has met. Her report concluded with what we also claim to be the main instigator of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the town, which is boredom. Temwa did however already have plans to combat this, and has been researching and planning the creation of a youth club to give young people an alternative to alcohol and excessive sexual activity.

This report is the first to have generated media interest in Usisya and to have picked up on its particularly desperate situation, at least with regards AIDS.

Click here to read the report.

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