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AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 9 Mar 2000
Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 9 Mar 2000
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SOUTH AFRICA: HIV INFECTION RATE SOARS AMONG TEEN GIRLS
The rate of HIV infection has "soared among South African teenage
girls," according to a survey by the Cape Town health department. The
survey found that the rate of increase among this group jumped nearly
two-thirds from 1997 to 1998, when 21% of girls ages 15-19 had HIV,
city health director Ivan Thomas said. Thomas explained that the 21%
infection rate was a 65% increase from 1997 and noted that the steep
rise is based on "several myths, including one that if HIV-infected
men had sex with a virgin they could rid themselves of the virus"
that causes AIDS. Over the next three years, some 250,000 South Afri-
cans are expected to die from AIDS and infant mortality is expected
to nearly triple by 2003. In October of last year, President Thabo
Mbeki caused an uproar when he questioned the usefulness of AZT for
"thousands of rape victims and HIV-positive pregnant women." South
Africa, with a population of 40 million, has about four million peo-
ple infected with HIV -- and about 1,700 new infections a day -- giv-
ing the country one of the highest infection rates in the world
(Reuters, 3/7).
KENYA: AIDS EDUCATION EFFORTS HIT ROADBLOCKS
Unless AIDS awareness "reaches every hamlet" in Kenya, the "catastro-
phe will be immeasurable," the Los Angeles Times reports. Almost 2
million Kenyans are infected with HIV, and an estimated 500 die each
day -- more than 20 each hour -- because of the disease. Eighty per-
cent of those who die are between the ages of 15 and 49, leaving be-
hind 500,000 orphans. Faced with a growing epidemic -- up to 8 mil-
lion Kenyans could be infected with HIV by 2002 -- the Kenyan govern-
ment declared HIV a national disaster last November, promising to in-
troduce AIDS education in schools and impose mandatory HIV testing
before marriage.
Government officials maintain that "they have always been open about
AIDS, but that by declaring it a national disaster, the battle would
pick up momentum." AIDS activists, however, argue that the "govern-
ment woke up much too late" and the "conspiracy of silence" masked
the growing numbers of the infected. Parliament member Eric Gor Sungu
said that the government's effort is "like shutting the stable door
when the horse has already bolted, because right now, whatever we do,
we cannot stop it. It's much more than a disaster. It's a catastro-
phe."
THE EFFORT AND THE ROADBLOCKS
The national government now expects local governments and community
organizations to pick up the slack and educate the public. Joseph Ka-
motho, chair of the ruling Kenya African National Union, said, "We
expect leaders of the party at the grass-roots level to actively ar-
ticulate the concern through public meetings." Community elders have
been encouraged to counsel adults and teenagers about sex and AIDS,
as sex education has been omitted from the school curriculum until
now. Both Roman Catholic and Muslim religious leaders have stymied
efforts to promote safe sex because they object to using condoms. Fa-
ther Alfred Atemo Ogada, a parish priest who continues to promote ab-
stinence, said, "We have to be reasonable and try to control our li-
bido. The moment we start using condoms or any other gadgets, we are
losing our dignity." Some community members have criticized that ap-
proach. Sungu said, "They have to choose between more Catholics who
are alive and kicking, and more dead Catholics."
The education campaign faces another considerable roadblock by way of
apathy and incorrect beliefs about how the disease is spread: many
Kenyans believe that AIDS is caused by witchcraft. Although 90% of
the population is aware of the disease, their knowledge is limited.
Many still refuse to accept that AIDS could possibly afflict them or
someone they know, although local health officials estimate that
seven of 10 village deaths are AIDS-related.
FINANCIAL CONCERNS
Money, not disease, worries the majority of Kenyan sex workers, the
Los Angeles Times reports. Although 75% of sex workers are HIV-
positive, many will not quit the business because of financial con-
cerns -- nor will they get HIV tests. One 17- year-old, who said she
insists that her clients use condoms but has not decided whether to
get an HIV test, said, "I am afraid, but I have no means of support.
I will quit once I save enough money to start a small business."
Families often sell their property hoping to find a cure, but most
Africans with HIV cannot afford to get the medicine they need and
supplies of drugs are limited or unavailable. Provincial medical of-
ficer Ambrose Misore estimated that his province receives about US$
300,000 a year to fight AIDS -- only one-third of what it needs.
Kenya's UNICEF representative Chrispin Wilson said, "If we want to
see any dent in this epidemic, we must get to the grass roots. If
this problem is not tackled immediately, it's going to be the great-
est disaster we have ever seen" (Simmons, Los Angeles Times, 3/5).
--
Cecilia Snyder
mailto:[email protected]
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