To start, I wish to congratulate the panel and all participants who took part in the live programme on the SBC on the occasion of World Aids Day. The educational value of the programme was excellent and the concerns expressed were genuine. Everyone involved cared about the subject and everyone had the desire to see a change in order to bring about a new approach within society in tackling the related social issues associated with HIV/AIDS.
I am concerned and worried about the trends that have taken root in our small country. Without more planning and resolute action, the future of our younger generations and the social fabric of our communities are in serious danger. We are confronted with many ills, and unless we act now, they will explode in our faces and the consequences will be too much for us as a small nation.
The graph showing the prevalence of Hepatitis C gives a clear picture of our predicament. The age of those affected reflect persons who are at their strongest, and therefore pillars of the working population. As one health worker told us, we have to multiply the figure by 10 in order to have a clearer picture of the real problem. Isn’t that frightening?
All the local social indicators are negative. Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise, the number of intravenous drug users have gone up, alcohol related diseases keep escalating, and younger women are seen on our streets as sex workers. Teachers are finding it difficult to cope with their own students, let alone those who invade school premises to sort out their children’s problems.
Our society is going in the wrong direction and we should all be concerned.
The other side of all these problems is the economic troubles we might have to face as a country. The eventual cost to deal with all the illnesses caused by those social ills will be the greatest burden on our economy. The biggest concern however remains the quality of life we all aspire to as a society. The attitude of ‘this is not my problem’ has to stop, because it is indeed everyone’s problem.
Some may be living behind high walls, fully protected. However, eventually the problem will climb the wall and meet you wherever you are. With crime on the increase as well, everyone will be touched. Therefore NOW is the time for action.
We all agree that the main source of all these problems is drugs. From there, one thing leads to another. The approach so far has been too much a question of the police running after young people who are smoking a joint, and success has been defined as the number of people arrested. This approach is wrong and we need to start looking at other ways of doing things.
We have to be clear on what prison can and cannot do. Someone who is an addict does not need prison. He needs treatment. A mandatory prison sentence for helpless drug users does not resolve the issue. On the other hand, drug trafficking must be fought resolutely and efforts against drug use must be comprehensive.
Some people may say that giving clean needles to drug addicts is wrong and will promote the abuse of drugs. This is just one aspect of the whole treatment process that need to be comprehensive and all-encompassing. Let us therefore also look at programmes for counseling, detoxication, employment, rebuilding hope, medical treatment, and above all saving the life of a fellow human being.
I sincerely hope that more money is put in these programmes that will help tackle the concerns we are faced with. Too often millions are given to certain agencies which fail to bring solutions to problems, whereas those who really need the facilities are given crumbs. This needs to be changed if we really want to see an improvement.
As I mentioned earlier, all the agencies need to come together. Let it not be another talk-show, but an action-oriented programme that will indeed help this country move forward.
I am worried and concerned. I want to be part of the solution. We should all stand up and be part of the solution. Let us together save our country and future generations.
The time to do that is now.
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