Islands urged to act now to prevent tragedies

Jovesa Saladoka & Nicole Gooch
Imagine a village with its entire population of young people dying from AIDS-related diseases.

Now imagine the ripple effect that would have on the whole country, not just on its health services, but also on its economy, labour force, national security, and last but not least, on its culture and traditions.

This scenario does not require a leap of the imagination to Africa or Asia. It is already happening near us, in the Pacific region.

Indeed, the tragic impact of HIV in Melanesia is real, beginning with Papua New Guinea, which already has one of the world’s highest rates of new HIV infections.

The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 60 000 Papua New Guineans are now living with HIV.

Speaking in Suva at the launch of the HIV Prevention Campaign run in conjunction with the 2006 Melanesian Arts Festival in October, Dr Jimmie Rodgers, Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), argued that the survival of our Pacific cultures and traditions depends on individuals making choices on safe sex and then acting on them, regardless of religion or culture.

Similarly, Fiji’s vice-president Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, in a letter endorsing the HIV Prevention Campaign, noted how culture and tradition play central roles in the lives of Pacific Islanders, yet can also serve to help spread HIV, potentially contributing to their own disappearance.

“Culture and tradition are important in the lives of Pacific people. It is a heritage of which we are justly proud.

“But now some of our customary sensitivities concerning sexual conduct, reinforced by religious teachings, are resisting initiatives to combat the advance of HIV/AIDS. These taboos are often entrenched and deeply felt. However, peoples’ lives are at stake. We must act to prevent the tragedies that HIV/AIDS leaves in our midst.” 

“The question is whether we love our youth enough to put aside our own prejudices, so we can ensure they are better equipped to deal with HIV/AIDS and to live,” said  Madraiwiwi.

Fittingly, the theme for the Third Melanesian Arts Festival was “Living Cultures, Living Traditions”.

The HIV Prevention Campaign, which was organised by Fiji’s Ministry of Health, the Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project and HIV & STI Section and Cultural Development Bureau of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), was closely tied to the festival theme.

The campaign ran throughout the festival and was even more successful than its organisers had hoped.

As more than 2000 delegates scrambled each day to catch glimpses of the vibrant festival performances, 26 year-old Peni Vuidreketi quietly prepared his pack each morning for another day of trying to convince young Melanesians that ‘skin to skin’ sex is not the way to go. 

Vuidreketi was part of a group of young and energetic Fijian peer educators who were the backbone of the HIV Prevention Campaign.

And according to Vuidreketi, what made the campaign so successful was that young people were addressing sensitive issues such as sexuality, sexual health and condoms with other young people.

“We know what makes young people tick...so it’s about channelling that energy into something positive.”

Passionate peer educators distributed information brochures and condoms to more than 5000 people, to the extent that stocks ran out. Around 200 people put aside their prejudices and fear and made the most of the confidential counselling and testing facility set up in Sukuna Park at the heart of the Arts Festival to ask for more information or take a blood test to check their HIV status.

“HIV is here, but people still think it has no face. But it can be your face...it doesn’t respect culture or tradition,” said Vuidreketi. “We can’t continue to treat it like a disease; the problem is so much bigger than that.”

The momentum generated by the HIV Prevention Campaign at the Melanesian Arts Festival will be extended to other big events   held in the region, such as the upcoming World AIDS Day 2006 commemorations, 2007 World Netball Championships, and Pacific Games.

The HIV & STI Section of SPC, using the Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Strategy (2004-2008) as a springboard, is committed to reducing the vulnerability of Pacific Islanders to HIV and other sexually transmissible infections at such events by providing information, support and access to counselling and testing.