EDITORIAL: Namibia’s silent war with AIDS

The latest numbers on HIV and AIDS released this week are not just grim - they are a national wake-up call. In 2023 alone, 3,700 Namibians died from AIDS-related illnesses. Of these, 2,100 were women. Another 6,000 people contracted HIV in the same year. These aren’t cold statistics; they are names unspoken at dinner tables, chairs left empty in sitting rooms and offices, and futures erased before their time. And yet, this crisis unfolds with barely a whisper. Beneath the surface of the official figures lies a darker reality - one clouded by underreporting, stigma, and silence. Many men continue to shun HIV testing, clinging to the dangerous myth that their partner’s results are somehow a proxy for their own. This misplaced trust doesn’t just threaten their lives - it turns them into unwitting conduits of transmission, deepening the epidemic’s reach. But perhaps the most chilling development of all is the cultural amnesia taking hold among the youth. A generation that has no memory of AIDS’ deadliest years now jokes that “AIDS doesn’t kill anymore.” This fatal misconception, born from medical advancements and social detachment, drives reckless behaviour and undoing years of hard-won progress. Yes, treatment has improved. But that treatment only works if people know they need it - and seek it out in time. The government cannot bear this burden alone. This must be a whole-society response. Ministries must intensify their outreach. Schools must speak plainly to students. Churches must preach truth, not fear. Parents must break the silence around sex, health, and risk. And men -especially men - must find the courage to confront their vulnerability, not bury it. The epidemic is not over. We must stop pretending it is.

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-14

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