Five
things you didn’t know about HIV/AIDS in News (Updated
August 15, 2010)
[Home]
[Previous
news]
Source: The List (Issue
665)
Date: 14 August 2010
Written by: Annie Lennox
Five
things you didn’t know about HIV/AIDS in
1. Becoming a UNAIDS
Goodwill Ambassador recently has strengthened and broadened my platform. Michel
Sidibé, the director of UNAIDS, is a real visionary who has a very clear and
innovative directive as to how he wants to lead the response to the HIV /AIDS
pandemic (especially with regard to women and children) and has made it an
objective to have zero mother-to-child transmission of the virus by 2015.
2. Stigma isn’t only
prevalent in
3. People are afraid of
HIV/AIDS. The issue is loaded with misleading myths and misnomers.
Fundamentally, we need decent education so that people understand clearly how
the virus is passed on, and how it’s not. It needs to come out of the closet,
and be demystified, and understood, just like any other virus.
4. The most significant
development is that the South African Government is finally responding
appropriately to the situation. Since the launch of the National Strategic plan
in April of this year, they are scaling up their response to the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. They aim to halve infection rates, and double levels of treatment, and
seem to be very committed to making a real difference, although the challenges
are enormous.
5. I cannot tell you that
I have a prescriptive stratagem, but I do think it begins with dialogue. I
believe that people have to think for themselves as to how they might like to
explore the issue further, and how they can personally become engaged. I do
think, however, that there needs to be a place for HIV/AIDS with regards to sex
education in every school.
Pamela Stephenson Connolly
The Guardian, 10 August
2010
Where
are the positive images of the sex lives of people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and
beyond? Photograph: Philippe Gelot/Getty Images
Over the last few months
there have been numerous headlines about the sex lives of the over-50s –
almost all negative. The HIV infection rate in this group has doubled, we are
told. The numbers of over-50s suffering from chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea,
herpes and genital warts is growing. One doctor even wrote about his shock at
treating the sexual diseases of what he called "cheerfully
promiscuous" baby boomers.
It is true there are
probably some people at middle age who mistakenly think their sexual partners
are above suspicion, and others who did not enter their dating lives using
condoms. Safer sex practices may not come so easily for them, yet the prominence
and style of these articles underscores the sexual ageism that pervades our
society. Where are the positive messages about the sex lives of people in their
50s, 60s, 70s and beyond? Do we ever hear the truth about how sexually vibrant
they can be – without an attached warning about physical dangers and moral
pitfalls? Sex among elders is surely one of the greatest sexual taboos in
western society.
It is a different story in
other societies I have visited, such as
Instead of being
judgmental, we too should be accepting of sexuality in the later years. We
should be encouraging elders, including those facing challenges of illness and
disability, to voice their sexual concerns without fearing our prejudice and
guilt. Many people in their 50s and above – often "empty-nesters"
and free of concerns about pregnancy, with more time for leisure – are
privately enjoying the most liberated sex they have ever had. In many cases,
they are also free of the body-image concerns they had when they were younger
(as one woman told me, "It's all gone south, so I just make the best of
it"). And with many years of sexual experience to draw on, they know their
own physiology and that of their partners, and have exceptionally well-honed
love-making skills.
True, some reluctance to
use condoms concerns sexual functioning as people age. While it is a myth that
erectile problems are natural consequences of ageing, some older men's erections
are not as immediate, as firm or as reliable as they were earlier on – and
that can have an impact on the ability or willingness to put on a condom.
Similarly, ageing women who are experiencing lubrication depletion may be
reluctant to insist on barrier protection that they believe can be irritating
and uncomfortable. Perhaps the best form of safe sex for older people is exactly
what one would advocate for younger people if one could get away with it; out
with abstinence preaching and in with promoting fabulous eroticism in all its
many, non-penetrative forms. And for much of that, you don't even need an
erection.
Even those who are facing
serious or life-threatening physical conditions often want to be sexual despite
their challenges and can receive tremendous comfort from a soothing style of
sexual or sensual contact. Many (just like younger people with serious illness
and disabilities) desperately need practical guidance from their doctors as to
what is possible for them. They would rather not hear "Let's just worry
about getting you well first", and deserve to be given suggestions such as
how to manage the timing of sex around moments when pain is at its lowest point,
the use of heat pads to soothe joints, and safe intercourse positions.
I have spoken to many
octogenarians who enjoy frequent sensual contact, erotic fun with partners and
fabulous orgasms (either alone or with a partner). They are not going to
announce it to their families because, just like teenagers, they become acutely
aware of ageist prejudices. It is time to lighten up about elder sex. Granny and
grandpa are sexual beings. Get over it.
Tips for better sex after
50
• You may have made love
fast in the past but now, what's the hurry? Be creative, and tease.
• Don't take it the
wrong way if you or your ageing partner does not become immediately erect or
lubricated; arousal response can be a bit slower and more direct genital
stimulation is often required. Keep a tube of lubricant handy.
• Allow your selves to
enjoy sex however it feels best, even if that requires finding "lazy"
positions.
• Let go of the notion
that intercourse is the "main event" and enjoy sensuality in any form.
• It's sexual quality
not quantity that counts.
Sex Life by Dr Pamela
Stephenson Connolly will be published by Ebury Press next year
10 Aug 2010
AlertNet correspondent
RANONG,
His wife, Lei, was
pregnant with their second daughter when he fell sick. He had diarrhoea and
could not eat. By the time he was diagnosed, he was skin and bones and his CD4
count - white blood cells that attack infections - was 26.
Most healthcare providers
start life-saving antiretroviral drugs (ARV) when CD4 counts go below 350.
"We didn't even have
the money to go to the clinic. We had no one who could help us, no parents or
relatives," said Lei, sitting in their small hut in a migrant workers'
compound.
With her husband unwell,
Lei got a job on a construction site just 45 days after giving birth. Aung,
employed on the same site, only stopped working for a month at the height of his
illness.
"With a newborn baby,
I couldn't afford not to go to work," he said.
Lei has now discovered she
is also HIV positive and the couple fear their baby may be as well.
The family were referred
to Marist Mission Ranong (MMR), a Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO)working
to improve health and education for
Father John Larsen, head
of MMR, told AlertNet: "One of the biggest needs we see is for migrant
workers struggling with HIV/AIDS" - families like Aung's, who need to work
every day to make ends meet and yet are unable to do so because of their health.
MMR provides home visits
and subsidises the cost of medication for
HIDDEN PROBLEM
Every year, thousands risk
their lives to cross into
There are thought to be up
to 2 millions
Aung, a former student
activist, spent seven years in jail in
He and his family decided
to flee while he was working at a palm oil plantation in the southern port town
of
Ranong, a lush provincial
town, is a 30-minute boat ride from Kawthaung and teeming with migrant workers
from
Aid workers estimate there
could be up to 200,000
In Ranong the migrants do
low-pay work in fishing, seafood processing and agricultural industries.
There are no official
statistics on how many migrants are infected with HIV/AIDs because most are
fearful of going to hospitals or asking for help due to their illegal status and
lack of money.
"It is very difficult
to know the numbers and how serious the situation is and it can be frustrating
because I don't think we're reaching enough patients," Larsen said.
"My feeling is that
we are not hearing about them enough because for most of the people, it is a
combination of fear and lack of education."
HIGH COST OF TREATMENT
Many turn up at the
hospital or turn to MMR in the last stages of the disease, when they are no
longer able to work, Larsen said.
Aung and Lei are lucky.
Both are now on antiretroviral drugs (ARV) paid for by MMR. The monthly cost of
medication, at around 2,400 baht (about $80), is too much for the couple, who
have a combined income of 200 baht a day and are now expecting their third
child.
The cost of HIV/AIDS
treatment is also a burden to the local health service, which has been funding
treatment for 3,000 migrant patients but a lack of funds is preventing them from
providing the same service to newcomers.
"They require
constant care throughout the patients' lives and it can be quite a strain on the
hospital," deputy director of Ranong Hospital Pichet Pitikuakoon said.
"So we need to rely on NGOs like MMR to pay for that because we can't pay
for the cost of ARV for new patients."
MMR says its aim is to
help migrant workers get better so they are able to pay for the medicines
themselves, allowing MMR to fund more patients for treatment.
Lwin, a typical
Both he and his wife are
infected and their 11-month-old son who died recently was also suspected of
having the virus.
But thanks to the scheme,
Lwin is now fit enough to work again and is paying for 75 percent of his ARV.
(Names have been shortened
or changed to protect people's identities)