You can't fight what you don't know. Testing is free at most health centers and hospitals, including Mt Hagen Hospital.
Knowing early means you can start treatment early and live a long, healthy life. Treatment also stops you from passing it on. ARV treatment makes HIV undetectable and untransmittable.
2. Use Protection Every Time.
Condoms are still the #1 way to prevent HIV during sex. They are free at clinics and health posts across PNG. No shame in picking them up.
Protect yourself. Protect your partner. Protect your future.
3. Stop Mother-to-Child Transmission.
Mother-to-child transmission is up 34% in PNG according to the latest NAC report.
Pregnant women must go for antenatal checkups. With proper medicine during pregnancy and breastfeeding, a mother with HIV can give birth to a healthy, HIV-negative baby.
4. Talk Openly. End the Stigma.
Silence is helping the virus spread.
As *Cardinal Sir John Ribat* said:
> “When no one is talking about HIV anymore, it is you and I, the church, we have to take it up.”
Let's talk to our sons, daughters, and youth. Let's treat people living with HIV with respect, not gossip. Stigma stops people from testing.
5. Support Education and Screening.
Good news: In Western Highlands Province, the new GeneXpert testing and HPV vaccination program is helping women get screened and treated in under 1 hour.
We need more of this in every province. Support local health workers and community programs. Early screening saves lives.
The Bottom Line.
HIV is not a death sentence anymore. But it IS preventable.
The National AIDS Council says an investment in prevention could save PNG over K271 million in economic losses every year. More importantly, it will save lives.
Prevention starts with you. Prevention starts with me.
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Need help or info?
Visit your nearest health center or call the National AIDS Council PNG.
What do you think is the biggest challenge to stopping HIV in our communities? Comment below.
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