JOHANNESBURGNews (Updated
March 8, 2009)
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04 Mar 2009 16:42:50 GMT
Source: IRIN
"We must address the
significant responsibilities faced by women and girls during home-based care in
the context of HIV and AIDS, and find ways to strengthen the role of men,"
she told the fifty-third session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in
Migiro noted that if men
played a more active part in HIV care-giving and other domestic tasks, they
would be able to have a greater role in the lives of their families.
"We must also develop
innovative ways to eliminate gender stereotypes about the roles of women and
men, beginning at an early age in homes, schools and communities, and engaging
leaders in all walks of life," she added.
Measures to promote better
shared responsibility should include closing the gap in pay, increasing
flexibility in working arrangements, and instituting better leave provisions for
both women and men.
03 Mar 2009 17:17:44 GMT
Source: IRIN
JOHANNESBURG
These individuals are also
less likely to practise safe sex, and the older the individual, the faster the
progression from HIV infection to AIDS.
The article noted that in
the
While life-prolonging
antiretroviral therapy may be contributing to the number of older individuals
with HIV, scientists also suspect many are becoming infected at an advanced age.
Erectile-dysfunction drugs
have been extending the sex life of many older individuals and may also be
extending the HIV epidemic into older age groups.
WHO called for more
research into the impact of these drugs on the HIV epidemic, as they were
becoming more widely available in the developing world.
05 Mar 2009 17:18:24 GMT
Source: IRIN
Whether bound in black
leather straps or attired in khakis and collared shirts, everyone here is
bombarded by projected images of gay men, many nude, carrying messages about
HIV, safe sex and treatment; posters with more messages liberally adorn the
walls.
The campaign is run by
Health4Men, a programme of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) of the
Johannesburg-based
The MSM community has
historically had a very low profile in the HIV/AIDS conversation in
Glenn De Swardt,
co-director of Health4Men and a leading expert on gay issues in
Using the internet, mobile
phone technology, traditional media and direct campaigns, Play Nice hopes to
reach various groups of MSM in novel, pro-sex ways that will appeal to them.
"The paradigm is
sex-positive - most messaging comes from a hetero-normative paradigm. A guy
hears, 'You must abstain because your sex is bad.' Patriarchy teaches us that
men penetrate, don't get penetrated, so there's shame there. We say, 'Let's
celebrate [MSM sex], let's talk about it, and let's be responsible'," De
Swardt told IRIN/PlusNews.
Health4Men has collected a
database of phone numbers, and uses techniques like sending out a bulk text
message on a Friday night, reminding guys who are "playing" to bring
condoms and lubricant. Later in the evening another text message might be sent,
informing recipients that if they have had unsafe sex, they have 48 hours to
begin post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and giving a number they can contact to
receive treatment.
Health4Men has an office
in
A clinic for men
According to De Swardt,
the average gay man in
"For the gay
community, people feel embarrassed to go to the local government clinic where
they are known. To have sores in your mouth or down there ... if you can go to a
special clinic where you're comfortable and won't be discriminated against,
that's good," said Prosper Mandy at the Play Nice launch party.
Health4Men will be opening
a facility at the Ivan Toms Centre for Men's Health in the
"Personnel are all
male, though not necessarily all gay," he said. All services will be free,
and will include HIV tests, CD4 counts to measure immune system strength, viral
load testing to check the quantity of HI-virus in the body, screening for
sexually transmitted infections, counselling, and antiretroviral and other
treatments.
Dr Kevin Rebe, an
infectious disease specialist and HIV physician who will be the primary medical
officer, said the clinic would adhere to all Department of Health guidelines,
but would be "more holistic".
"We're assessing
sexual risk in greater detail; we are extra tailored to higher-risk
populations." In addition to physical care, "we deal with psychosexual
issues that really affect sexual activity, like impulsivity, sexual addiction,
and the use of drugs and alcohol." Health4Men distributes free lubricants
along with condoms, a vital component of safe anal sex.
De Swardt also runs
support groups for HIV-positive men. "In the next three months I want to
have three support groups running: one for people who have just found out their
status, one for those with difficulty adjusting to it, and a third for those
going into treatment."
Coming out, "out
there"
Referring to the black and
coloured townships around
De Swardt commented:
"This campaign has been designed specifically for urban ... gay men. This
campaign - the way it exists now - cannot be replicated in the
The current Play Nice
campaign is a trial run for larger campaigns to be rolled out during the year.
Health4Men has set up the process for research among the various socioeconomic
groups in the black and coloured communities around
Adiel Peters, the
administrator of the Woodstock Clinic and an MSM from the
"At the moment there
are no services specifically around MSM in those communities. Discrimination
also affects service delivery - people won't always give you the same level of
service if they have preconceived thoughts about you being gay. Sometimes MSM
are not taken seriously, or are chased away," Peters told IRIN/PlusNews.
"MSM in my community
mostly engage in spontaneous sex – it's about meeting a guy in the street at
night and deciding to have sex for a number of reasons: enjoyment, financial
gains ... most are reliant on substances, so it could be an exchange for drugs
or alcohol. And because it's spontaneous they don't have condoms and engage in
barebacking," he said.
"They're usually
intoxicated, can't even remember what they did the night before; they wake up
the next morning on the side of the street or in someone's home they don't know,
and have had sex with people they don't know or can't remember."
Hoping to reach those
communities, De Swardt has suggested that the new campaigns attempt to avoid the
stigma of being MSM by providing testing and messaging in places like
pharmacies, or even hairdressing salons.
"We have more
resources for the new campaigns than we've had for the current one - we're
investing quite heavily in this preventative thing," said De Swardt.
"It's the first time
this kind of thing - MSM, multimedia, sex-positive kind of messaging - has been
done in South Africa, and a lot more money will go into the next non-Eurocentric
campaigns."
By HOLLY RAMER, Associated
Press Writer Holly Ramer, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 2, 1:05 pm ET
The Ivy League school is
to announce Dr. Jim Yong Kim's selection Monday in
Kim is a former director
of the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department and heads the Global
Health and Social Medicine Department at
By KATY POWNALL,
Associated Press Writer Katy Pownall, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 7,
2:17 pm ET
BAUCHI,
Nigeria – With her golden dress shimmering in the sun and ornate henna tattoos
covering her hands, Hauwa Idris is the picture of a radiant Nigerian bride. But
her betrothal has hardly been typical: Both bride and groom are infected with
the deadly AIDS virus and have been encouraged to wed by an unusual government
program.
"We live in a
polygamous society where divorce is common and condom use is low," says
Yakubu Usman Abubakar, an official working with the Bauchi Action Committee on
AIDS, which runs the program. "If we can stop those who have the disease
spreading it to those who don't have the disease, then obviously it will come
under control."
The plan had seen 93
"positive" couples married since its inception about two years ago.
Idris, aged 32, and her beaming husband, 39-year-old Umar Ahmed, are couple No.
94.
"I'm very happy to
see my wedding day," laughs Idris shyly. "I never expected I was going
to marry because of my (HIV) status. But now I am happy and thank God that now
we have a solution ... we can marry within ourselves."
Idris and Ahmed's eyes met
across a crowded clinic waiting room as they queued to collect their
anti-retroviral HIV therapy pills. They exchanged phone numbers and the
courtship began.
Two months later, Ahmed
asked Idris' parents for her hand in marriage. It was granted and a dowry of $68
agreed upon. As an incentive to carry it off, the Bauchi group contributed $225
toward the cost of the couple setting up home together, no small amount in a
country where over half the population live on $1 a day.
The outreach program won't
be formalized until 2009, and no budget figures exist yet. The state doesn't
seek to introduce HIV-infected people, since that would entail revealing private
medical data, but when officials hear of HIV lovers, they step in quickly to
encourage a legal union.
Around 4 million of
Bauchi is the only one of
"We have such a close
bond," says Usman Ziko, 42, of his relationship with wife Hannah, 32. Money
from the Bauchi plan allowed them to marry in October, after an 18-month
courtship that began in the corridors of the clinic.
"It was a flamboyant
affair," Hannah recalls of the wedding with a smile. "Lots of people
and dancing and we snapped pictures to remember the day."
"When I first found
out I was positive I thought it was the end of the world," explains Ziko.
"I was depressed and became isolated from my friends. Now I have a partner
who understands everything. We share our problems, remind each other to take
medicine and are free with each other."
Bala Garba, a 40-year-old
soldier, married Rabi Ibrahim, a 24-year-old teacher, with assistance from the
plan after they met at their clinic.
"Making this marriage
will make our lives easier and help us to keep the secret (of our HIV positive
status)," Garba explains. "It is normal to be married in our society.
This keeps people from thinking there is anything abnormal about us."
The pair have just had
their first baby — a little boy named Musa.
With assistance from the
Bauchi Action Committee on AIDS, the couple received treatment and advice to
help prevent Rabi from passing the virus to her baby, although the child is
still too young to be tested. According to health workers, they have every
chance of having a healthy child. "He is a strong boy and he's growing
fast," laughs Garba, visibly delighted.
Ziko and Hannah, following
strict advice and recommendations from the organization, have also conceived.
"I'm so excited to be
a mother," says Hannah, now three months pregnant. "I have been eating
a special diet and having medical checkups. I never imagined I could live such a
normal life."
Not everyone is so
encouraged, however. Some health experts have criticized the plan, saying that
if HIV positive couples are encouraged to have babies, more children will end up
orphaned.
According to the United
Nations,
They point out that in
"Here you can't
assume that someone with HIV will die sooner than someone else," says
Abubakar, of the Bauchi program. "Especially if they are taking care of
themselves, receiving good advice and proper medication."
Ziko certainly has no
intention of leaving his unborn child to fend for itself.
"It's the start of a
fresh, new and happy life," he beams. "I plan to live another 50
years."