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| COMPASSIONATE: Princess Diana talks to a patient during a visit to Milestone House in 1991 |
News (Updated
February 21, 2010)
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By Denis R. Buwembo
February 22 2010
On February 13, Saturday
Monitor published an article; Male circumcision and HIV/Aids; Time to cut losses
by Mr Gawaya Tegulle. The article is summarised as “people must be told that
there is no need to loose your precious foreskin because you will die anyway.
And Africans must be taught that we need to crosscheck every so-called solutions
that our friends in the west prescribe, not swallow it wholesale. The fly that
has no body to advise it follows the corpse to the grave.”
In the article Mr Gawaya
alludes to the regrettable incidents of Yoanina Nanyonga and another one from
Yumbe! These incidents clearly depict a picture of people desperate to live, due
to a disease that they have acquired, some unfortunate but others through their
ways of living. Surely a disease driving people to perform such deplorable acts
can’t be ignored, but to compare the most recent male circumcision drive to
such incidents is very regrettable.
For a very long time,
science has urged that prevention is better than cure, making this phrase a
cliché! Interestingly, Mr Gawaya is very right. Men circumcised or not will
acquire HIV if their ways are not checked, but the rate at which this will
happen will be very high for uncircumcised men. Men are not immortal, so the
fact that we have to die is a no brainer! Faced with a plethora of competing
causes of death in Africa; malaria, famine, rampant murders, and road traffic
crashes etc, it is about time that we seriously think about ways to reverse or
stop this trend of avoidable deaths, this calls for serious adherence to
preventive methods.
In Africa, it must be
noted that the majority of HIV infections are acquired through heterosexual
intercourse, therefore it is not unusual that behaviour change measures
(abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms) played an important part in
Uganda’s success story of curbing the epidemic from a prevalence of nearly 30
per cent to 14 per cent or 12 per cent currently. Is this an acceptable
situation that we should shelve all research about new ways to reduce new
infections? Obviously not. Male circumcision is one of the oldest surgical
operations in history, tracing roots in the bible and ancient paintings of male
circumcision from
Keen observers of societies noted that most parts of north and west Africa,
where male circumcision is common practice, HIV prevalence has been consistently
low in most cases as low as 2.1 per cent ( Benin 1999 etc), This trend is a big
contrast when you look at most east, central and south African countries where
male circumcision rates are low but HIV prevalence very high (Swaziland 26 per
cent 2006/7). This very big contrast, led researchers to subject male
circumcision to the most rigorous test in science: Randomized control trials
which consistently produced positive results showing the protective effect of
male circumcision for HIV prevention. Does male circumcision give 100 per c ent
protection against HIV acquisition for males? NO; research results show a
protective effect of about 60 per cent. Those desirous of finding out how male
circumcision provides this protective effect can log onto
www.malecircumcsion.org.
Male circumcision combined
with other methods “ABC”, if packaged very well will accord our people less
risk of acquiring the deadly virus. Although male circumcision doesn’t seem to
have primary benefits to the woman, it is argued that with a big number of HIV
free men courtesy of being circumcised, fewer women will as a consequence be at
risk of acquiring HIV, hence driving the epidemic to levels similar the other
circumcising countries in
18 Feb 2010 Source: Human
Rights Watch
(
The vigilante violence has hit Mtwapa, a coastal town northeast of
"The government is sitting silent while mobs try to kill human rights
defenders and assault people they suspect are gay," said Dipika Nath,
researcher in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) rights program at
Human Rights Watch. "Inaction is complicity, and silence can be
lethal."
In late January, 2010, unsubstantiated rumors about a "gay wedding"
scheduled for February 12 started circulating in Mtwapa, in Kilifi District.
Local and national radio stations picked up the unconfirmed story. On February
7, several imams and muftis (Islamic scholars) told their congregations during
Friday prayers to be vigilant and to "expose" homosexuals in Mtwapa.
On February 11, Sheikh Ali Hussein of the Council of Imams and Preachers of
Kenya and Bishop Lawrence Chai of the National Council of Churches of Kenya held
a news conference. As reported by Daily Nation and by other witnesses who have
spoken to Human Rights Watch, the two religious leaders demanded an
investigation of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), a government
health center that provides HIV/AIDS services to the community. They criticized
the government for "providing counselling services to these criminals"
and demanded that the KEMRI office in Mtwapa be shut down, the reports said.
Local activists told Human Rights Watch that, in a statement after the meeting,
the religious leaders promised to "flush out gays." The Daily Nation
reported that Chai is the leader of a network called "Operation Gays
Out," whose actual numbers and aims are not known.
On February 12, an armed mob of 200 to 300 people surrounded the KEMRI health
center. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that a man called "Faridi,"
an organizer of the mob, said a KEMRI staff member was homosexual because he
wore a T-shirt promoting safer sex. In response, police who were at the scene
took him and another KEMRI staffer into custody.
Earlier the same day, Faridi, with police, forcibly entered another private
individual's home, claiming that the two people in the house were homosexual.
Police took the two into custody, too. Local activists have informed Human
Rights Watch that none of the men were charged and they have all since been
released, and that the police were attempting to protect them from violence by
taking them into custody.
The mob beat senseless another man who was approaching the health center and was
about to set him on fire when the police arrived and took him into custody as
well.
A large crowd gathered outside the police station where the five were being
held. A religious leader addressed the mob, saying all homosexuals should be
driven out of Mtwapa, and another speaker encouraged the mob to not bother
bringing homosexuals to the police but rather to take the law into its own
hands, witnesses said. Other speakers said that homosexuals had appeared in
Mtwapa when KEMRI opened its offices there. Smaller groups reportedly went to
the homes of other people suspected of being gay and threatened them.
Local sources told Human Rights Watch that the mob attacks appeared planned
rather than spontaneous. Â According to reports received by Human Rights
Watch, none of the attackers have been arrested.
Accounts of the attacks and arrests filled the front pages of the next day's
local and national newspapers.
A mob attacked and severely beat up another KEMRI volunteer on February 13, and
the police again took the victim into custody. The same day, a person was beaten
up in
Sheikh Ali Hussein declared on the radio on February 17 that Muslims would march
in Mtwapa on February 19 to protest against homosexuality. Local activists fear
the demonstration may extend to mosques along the coast, including in
"The police need to arrest the attackers and put a halt to what appears to
be a coordinated nationwide attack on people perceived to be homosexual,"
Nath said. "The disruption of lifesaving HIV/AIDS work could mean a public
health catastrophe as well as a human rights disaster."
The attacks and hate-mongering and the government's failure to act have spread
fear in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, Human Rights
Watch said. Several people have gone into hiding; others are preparing to flee
their homes at a moment's notice.
The attacks on the health center risk exacerbating the HIV/AIDS epidemic not
only among men who have sex with men, but among all Kenyans. Â HIV
prevalence in
Vigilante violence and panic promote an atmosphere in which any discussion of
sexuality will be silenced, and vulnerable populations driven underground, Human
Rights Watch said. KEMRI's Mtwapa offices have been closed since the attacks.
There are plans to reopen the center, but KEMRI staff remain nervous about
further attacks.
Although the declared reason for the six men's detention was to protect them,
news reports said authorities asked the men to submit to forensic examinations
to determine if they are homosexual. Five of them refused and the sixth
consented and was examined, although no "evidence" of homosexuality is
reported to have been found. Forensic medical examinations to "prove"
homosexual conduct are archaic and discredited. If conducted without genuine
consent, they may constitute torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, Human
Rights Watch said.
Chapter V of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees to all Kenyans the rights to
life, liberty, security of person, and privacy (articles 70, 71, and 72);
articles 79, 80, and 81 protect individuals' freedom of expression, association
and assembly, and movement. Article 82 protects against discrimination and
states that "no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either
of itself or in its effect."
Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code punishes "carnal knowledge... against
the order of nature" with up to 14 years in prison. This law is a relic of
The Penal Code's provisions contravene not only constitutional protections but
international human rights standards. Article 2 of the African Charter on Human
and People's Rights prohibits discrimination on all grounds; articles 3 and 19
secure for all the right to equality; articles 5 and 6 guarantee the right to
dignity and liberty; and articles 10 and 11 guarantee freedom of association and
assembly.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which authoritatively interprets the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and evaluates
states' compliance with its provisions, found in the 1994 case of Toonen v.
Australia that laws criminalizing consensual homosexual conduct among adults
violate the ICCPR's protections for private life and against discrimination.
Further, article 9 of the ICCPR secures for all the right to liberty, security,
and rights against arbitrary detention, and article 7 of the UN Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders specifically secures the right to "develop and
discuss new human rights ideas and principles and to advocate their
acceptance."
The report of the special representative of the secretary-general on human
rights defenders to the UN General Assembly specifically identifies human rights
defenders from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities as
being at particular risk and calls for greater state vigilance in protecting
their rights.
By David Brown
February 18, 2010
Those are among the
conclusions reached by scientists presenting research at the 17th Conference on
Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, the annual mid-winter AIDS meeting in
the
"It undoubtedly has
resulted in millions of deaths and has produced millions of orphans," she
told the more than 4,000 researchers gathered here.
Only as HIV testing has
become more common in
For example, in the East
African nation of
The likelihood that an
infected person will pass the virus to a partner depends on many things. The
risk decreases if the man is circumcised. Female-to-male transmission is less
likely than male to female. In many cases, the infected partner in a discordant
couple became infected before the current relationship or marriage began, and
many HIV-affected couples remain discordant for years.
The problem is that most
people do not know their HIV status. In particular, many people in stable
relationships have never gone for testing because they perceive themselves to be
at low risk for becoming infected.
A 2007 study that tested
the blood of a representative sample of 16,000 Kenyans between the ages of 15
and 64 found that only 15 percent of infected people knew they had the virus.
The fraction of HIV-affected couples in which partners know each other's status
is even lower -- only 9 percent. In co-habiting couples, use of condoms, which
could greatly lower the risk of transmitting the virus, is very low -- about 5
percent.
The consequence is that
many of the continent's new infections occur among long-standing couples (albeit
sometimes with the virus being introduced through an outside liaison). In
Prevention campaigns that
focus on couples and partner testing -- with a counselor present when the status
of each is revealed -- are one strategy for addressing this problem. But that,
in turn, could become a new impediment to testing, some experts say.
"The message has to
be very carefully crafted," said Wafaa El-Sadr, an AIDS researcher at
By MICHAEL BLACKLEY
|
| COMPASSIONATE: Princess Diana talks to a patient during a visit to Milestone House in 1991 |
A RESPITE centre for HIV
sufferers that was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales, is being awarded a civic
reception by the city council at the same time as its future is threatened by a
massive cut in funding.
Milestone House was one of
the first centres in the
The city council has agreed to hold a civic reception in the City Chambers to
mark the 21st anniversary of Waverley Care, the charity that runs the Oxgangs
respite centre. However, councillors have approved a plan to save £266,000 by
shaking up the way care is provided.
Council chiefs are proposing withdrawing funding for Milestone House's eight
remaining beds in order to instead focus on support at home and enhancing
existing day care services.
But bosses at Milestone House – the only facility of its kind in
Conservative councillor Jason Rust, who represents the ward that includes
Oxgangs and proposed the motion calling for a civic reception, said:
"The effect of not having a respite service would be prolonged
homelessness, greater hospital admissions and public health risks."
Under the council's proposals, it will no longer block purchase the eight
residential beds at Milestone House – which would lead to it being shut down.
The
David Johnson, director of Waverley Care, said: "The main issue is with
those who don't want to spend time in their own homes because they are not
supported. We don't have an argument with the need to maximise care at home; we
agree, but there is also a group of people who if they don't have this facility
will end up either spending more time in hospitals or isolated in their own
homes."
Councillor Paul Edie, the city's health leader, said talks are continuing about
funding.