This is dreadful stigmatization of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIVs). There was a chorus of resentment from the PLHIVs condemning the Member of Parliament but it only ended there because at that time there was no law against stigmatization of people living with HIV and AIDS.

At the weekend, the National Council of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NACOPHA), in disapproval of another equally stigmatizing and discriminatory statement made in the same House by a supposedly representative of the Nkasi North people telling the government that it was ‘wasting resources’ by allocating funds to the national response against HIV/AIDS because ‘PLHIVs contracted the disease on their own will!’

And he went further to suggest to the government to relocate such funds to other development projects and diseases.

People living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIVs) have censured both the parliament and government over silence and inaction on highly stigmatizing and discriminatory statements on HIV positive persons made in Parliament recently.

Member of Parliament for Nkasi North, Ali Kessy Mohammed CCM) said in the august House on June 29 this year that the government was wasting resources to allocate funds for the national response on HIV and AIDS.

He urged the Government to relocate such funds to other diseases like cancer and development projects because “people living with HIV and AIDS had contracted the disease on their own will.”

In a strongly worded statement to the press yesterday, the Chairman of the National Council of People living with HIV and AIDS (NACOPHA), Vitalis Makayula, said:

“We bring to the notice of all Tanzanians that we people living with HIV and AIDS in this country have been shocked, embarrassed and humiliated by the Honourable MP Ali Kessy Mohammed’s utterances which are full of outright contempt, discrimination, stigmatization and disregard for top national leaders as well as our development partners in the very respected House,” Makayula said.

He blamed both the Government and Parliament for not responding to the stigmatizing utterances by the Member of Parliament in the House.

“What is more disturbing is the fact that the statement was made in Parliament before the Parliamentary Committee on AIDS, the Tanzania Parliamentary AIDS Coalition (TAPAC), Commissioner - Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) who is also a Member of Parliament, Prime Minister whose office coordinates activities on the national response on HIV and AIDS and members of parliament representing Civil Society Organizations (CSO) but all these people remained silent as the Nkasi North MP Ali Kessy Mohammed uttered these highly irritating, stigmatizing and discriminatory words,” said the PLHIV’s statement.

On that score, the PLHIV have urged the Government to consider seriously and urgently the representation of people living with HIV and AIDS in the House so that their interests are taken care of when discussing matters pertaining to HIV and AIDS because the silence in Parliament signifies collusion by the MPs and Government on Ali Kessy Mohammed’s statement.

They want a constituency representative in Parliament because all the present so-called representatives do not represent and safeguard the PLHIV’s interests.

The MP’s utterances have no justification because children who are born with HIV, infections on women who are raped or who provide home-based care, people who get infected through blood transfusion, faithful partners who contract the disease from their couples cannot be said to have contracted the disease on their own will.

The PLHIVs have asked the Government to apologise to the National Council of People Living with HIV and AIDS and the development partners for what transpired in the House. They have also asked for audience with the Tanzanian Prime Minister and Parliament so that they can air their feelings.