News (Updated
June 7, 2009)
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06 Jun 2009
Source: World Vision
Middle East/Eastern Europe/
|
Students in Marneuli in
Georgia form a human chain in the shape of the 'AIDS ribbon' in solidarity
with those living with HIV and AIDS. |
More then 50 youth formed
a human chain in the centre of Marneuli painting the AIDS ribbon to honour those
who have been affected by the AIDS pandemic and to remind society about the
issues that people living with HIV and AIDS face on Candlelight Memorial Day
last week. This event was part of a large campaign initiated by World Vision's
Public Health/HIV and AIDS Programme (PHHA) all over
Activities varied from street demonstrations to theatre plays, from east to
south and west
'I did not have much information about this disease and how real this problem is
for my country. Today I want to tell people to be more tolerant to people with
HIV and AIDS and not to think about this problem as something that never touches
them', said Giorgi, 17, who is a peer educator in Marneuli.
'This day is very important for our programme, as it gives us the opportunity to
talk about people with HIV and AIDS, about the difficulties these people face
such as discrimination, lack of assistance and financial and psychological
problems and to emphasise what happens when these are neglected', said Tinatin
Suladze, World Vision program coordinator.
One of the most effective ways of raising awareness and drawing attention to HIV
and AIDS is through street demonstrations, organised in different cities where
participants distributed informational leaflets to passer-bys.
World Vision
World Vision also supports the family members of people living with HIV and
AIDS. This month more then 20 families received hygiene kits and medicines for
children. 'This is a huge support for me. I know that these people care about
us, and in this situation when there is a lack of assistance from others, I know
that in case of emergency I can count on their help', said 34-year- old Eteri,
who received gifts from World Vision, for herself and for her daughter.
World Vision has trained more than 90 youth peer educators and 69 medical
personnel in target regions; established Health Care Cabinets in eight key
cities countrywide; held 2,000 face-to-face consultations and 1,500 hotline
consultations; opened dialogue in rural communities on taboo health-related
issues; and supported more than 100 people living with HIV and their family
members. In total, the programme helps more than 40,000 people in southern,
eastern, and western
By May 1 2009 a total of 1,983 HIV and AIDS cases had been registered in the
Infectious Diseases, AIDS & Clinical Immunology Research Centre of Georgia,
including 1,490 men and 493 women.
The majority of these are aged between 29 and 40. Some 2,010 people have been
reported to have developed AIDS in
Wed Jun 3, 6:53 AM
JAKARTA
There were 26,632 HIV/AIDS
cases in March, up from 9,565 in 2005, she said.
The actual number of
people with the disease was far higher as 85 percent of sufferers did not know
they were infected, she said.
"The number of
infections is increasing and it's worrying," Mboi added.
Representatives from more
than 60 countries from around Asia and the Pacific will gather in
By
BETSY TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer Betsy Taylor, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 6,
2009
When he was a baby, his
father entered his hospital room and injected a syringe of HIV-tainted blood
into his tiny body. At times during his childhood, he was expected to die.
Now 18, he'll put on his
black cap and gown Saturday and graduate from
"I expect to break
the barriers between what people think this virus is, and what it really
is," Brryan said Thursday during an interview at his home. "I hope to
eliminate a lot of ignorance and change people's minds."
Then he breaks into a few
lines from a Lazlo Bane song: "I can't do it all on my own; I'm no
Superman."
Brryan's mother, Jennifer
Jackson, and his father, Brian Stewart, were together for about two years, off
and on, in the early 1990s. After
In 1992, Brryan was 11
months old when he was hospitalized with asthma. After leaving the hospital, he
was constantly sick. Doctors ruled out one illness after another.
Finally, in 1996, the
child was near death when he was diagnosed with AIDS. But doctors were puzzled
about how he got the disease. He wasn't born with it, and had not had blood
transfusions. That's when suspicion turned to Stewart.
Stewart worked at a
Prosecutors said he had a
syringe filled with HIV-tainted blood tucked inside his lab coat. They said he
waited until he was alone with the boy and injected him.
There were no witnesses,
but at trial in 1998, Jackson and others testified that Stewart had access to
tainted blood and previously had threatened to use it as a weapon.
The defense contended the
boy could have been infected other ways, perhaps from a medical procedure. But
prosecutors argued that Stewart wanted the family out of his life, and didn't
want to pay child support.
"Obviously, the first
thing is, what a horrible thing to do to a person. And then, how do you do that
to your own child?" said Ross Buehler, the former
Stewart was convicted of
first-degree assault and received the maximum sentence, life in prison. At
sentencing, Judge Ellsworth Cundiff said he was in the same category as
"the worst war criminal" and added, "I believe when God finally
calls you, you are going to burn in hell from here to eternity."
To distance himself from
his father — and to protect his identity growing up — Brryan changed his
name from "Brian." He has not been in contact with Stewart but said he
has forgiven him.
"God wants us to
forgive people," he said. "Am I going to make myself as low as he is?
... I've got to be the better person."
Stewart, now 42, remains
in a
Buehler said he
occasionally talks to Jennifer Jackson and called Brryan courageous for his AIDS
education work. "He's a remarkable kid," Buehler said.
In many ways, Brryan is a
typical teen. He became a cheerleader after his sister dared him to try out for
the squad; he's learning how to play the guitar.
With improvements in AIDS
treatment, he's down to just five medications these days. He said at his last
doctor's visit, they didn't draw blood because he has overall been in good
health.
Still, he has missed long
stretches of school battling AIDS and admits that some days, it's hard to get
out of bed.
Friends say Brryan is
known for talking animatedly with his hands and making people laugh. And he's
fiercely loyal.
Kendra Sontag, 16, said if
she has a bad day, Bryyan will often show up at her door to make sure she's all
right. His sunny outlook has made her a stronger person, Sontag said.
"He could be mad
forever but he chooses to forgive, because that's what God would do," she
said.
Brryan's also quite a
flirt.
"He likes to hit on
the ladies, I'm afraid," Sontag said.
That's where the stigma of
his disease can crop up. Sontag said at least one girl has been told to stop
talking to Brryan by parents worried about their daughter's involvement with a
boy with AIDS.
As always, Brryan moves
ahead. He plans to eventually go to college, and hopes one day to go into
politics, but for the upcoming months, he'll spend his time advocating for
others with AIDS.
Brryan has started a
nonprofit called Hope Is Vital. He will work this summer with Project Kindle, a
Valencia, Calif.-based organization that sponsors summer camps for children
affected by the disease. He also serves as a speaker with that group and a St.
Peters, Mo.-based ministry, Upward Bound Ministries.
Project Kindle's founder,
Eva Payne, said when Brryan first started attending
"Every year, he was a
little more confident," she said. And when another girl broke down a few
years ago, because she was having trouble talking about being HIV-positive,
Brryan offered his support.
"He said he can be
her voice, until she's ready," Payne recalled.
04 Jun 2009 16:23:55 GMT
Source: IRIN
AMURU, 4 June 2009 -
Twice a day Charity Lapolo*, 15, a student in the northern Ugandan district of
Gulu, sneaks away to take her life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs, terrified
that other students will find out she is HIV positive.
When they discovered her
status at her previous school, she was called "a walking corpse".
"It was unbearable, and seeing you taking the drugs brought more insults;
nobody would ever be your friend," she said.
Hoping the bullying would
end, Lapolo stopped taking her medication and nearly died. "I always threw
my drugs in a toilet at the school; I lost weight and became very thin and sick.
I was admitted at
In the mornings she hangs
back in the dormitory, waiting for the others to leave for class and risking
punishment for being late so she can take her drugs; she then waits till they
have left for night-time sessions before taking her evening dose.
Stigma in northern
"Should I leave
school so that I can continue taking my ARVs and live longer, or I should I stop
taking the drugs so that I continue with my education?" said another girl
at the same school, who told IRIN/PlusNews she secretly took her drugs in the
toilet.
Most teenagers find
adolescence a confusing time, but it is even harder for young people who are
HIV-positive and have no one to turn to.
Dealing with sexuality
A young adult in Amuru
district said her school needed HIV awareness classes so students would be more
informed about the risks. "Two boys in my class fell in love with me but I
told them that I am HIV-positive; they kept insisting that they will use condoms
during sex, but I refused."
A 2008 study by
international non-governmental research organisation the Population Council
found that although Ugandan adolescents infected with HIV were sexually active
and had the same aspirations as their HIV-negative peers, there were wide gaps
in addressing their sexual and reproductive health needs.
"Most programmes
assume that HIV-infected young people remain asexual," the researchers
found. "Service providers and counsellors usually advise perinatally
infected adolescents not to engage in sexual relationships."
Insufficient food
The meals served at school
are usually small and of poor nutritional value, but HIV-positive students
cannot ask for better food without being identified. "I can't sit in class
after taking the drugs, I feel so weak and I have blurred vision," said
John Ocen*.
The UN World Health
Organization recommends that energy intakes for HIV-infected children
experiencing weight loss be increased by 50 percent to 100 percent over the
requirements for healthy uninfected children. Amuru district education officer
Ben Okwamoi said the inadequate food in schools had been made worse by rising
food prices.
Sensitisation needed
Okwamoi said primary and
secondary schools should have lessons in HIV awareness. "All schools should
have HIV/AIDS clubs that address some of the challenges mentioned by these
children. Children who stigmatize others should be punished to deter those who
might development similar behaviour."
His counterpart in Gulu
District, Vincent Ochieng, said his department had noted negative behaviour by
students towards their HIV-positive peers and that these measures should be
enforced; HIV-positive students should have a support network so they did not
feel isolated.