Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
20 March 2008
Public Health & Education
Communities Nationwide Commemorate National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
[Mar 20, 2008]
Thursday marks the second annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which seeks to increase education and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native populations, Indian Country Today reports.
Roughly 11 out of every 100,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives were diagnosed with HIV or AIDS in 2005, according to CDC data based on reports from 33 states. Eleven percent of Native Hawaiians have been diagnosed with AIDS, and the infection rate for the group has increased about 3% since 1995.
Although the total infection rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives represents less than 1% of total HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S., the combined group is the third most affected population in the nation, behind blacks and Hispanics.
In addition, the life expectancy of American Indians and Alaska Natives with HIV/AIDS is shorter than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center.
Warren Jimenez, executive director of NNAAPC, said infection rates among native populations are probably higher than the CDC figures indicate. Increases in rates of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as in rates of sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis, suggest that HIV/AIDS rates are likely increasing for the group, according to Jimenez. "There are significant gaps in reporting around this issue," he said, adding, "I think that stigma is an issue to face, the issue of sexuality or being two-spirited or being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender." Jimenez said drugs that prolong the life expectancies of people with HIV/AIDS are a positive development, but the "downside to that is that people have grown numb (to the danger of infection)." Decreasing media coverage of HIV/AIDS-related issues also has lowered awareness about behaviors that increase the risk of infection, he said.
NNAAPC and more than 55 American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native community organizations around the country will hold events to mark the awareness day. The Native Capacity Building Assistance Network, which includes the NNAAPC, the Center for Applied Studies in American Ethnicity and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, has developed an online 'tool kit' of fact sheets and promotional material to help communities plan events. An interactive map of national events is available online (LeMay, Indian Country Today, 3/19).
The National Alliance and State and Territorial AIDS Directors recently released a report about ways to address HIV/AIDS in American Indian communities. The report is available online (.pdf).
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Global Challenges
HIV/AIDS Threatening Democracy, Governance in Southern Africa, Study Says
[Mar 20, 2008]
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa recently released a study that found HIV/AIDS is threatening democracy and governance in some Southern African countries, South Africa's Mercury reports.
For the study, Kondwani Chirambo, head of the Governance and AIDS Program at IDASA, and colleagues examined the impact of HIV/AIDS in Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Savides, Mercury, 3/19). The study, titled "The Political Costs of AIDS in Africa," found that in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, deaths from undisclosed causes among Members of Parliament younger than age 55 was the main cause of vacancies during the last 15 years. In South Africa, 23 MPs had died of various causes since 1994, the study found.
"Not a single elected representative has been known to" have died of AIDS-related causes, "despite that this mortality profile seems to mimic the pandemic's effect," the study said (SAPA/Polity.org.za, 3/19). The study said that "because there is no further information on whether these deaths were as a result of disease, car accidents or other causes, no inferences have been drawn by IDASA regarding trends." However, the study noted that there are "higher levels of stigma and discrimination" related to HIV/AIDS "among political elites, given that not a single elected representative has been known to live with or die" from AIDS-related illnesses (Mercury, 3/19).
Because of the increased number of deaths among MPs in the countries studied, organizational and financial restraints have left the positions vacant for longer periods of time, the SAPA/Polity.org.za reports. The vacancies also have "opened the door" to less qualified replacements, which might affect the quality of service, the SAPA/Polity.org.za reports. "A viable option would be to simply allow political parties to replace the deceased through appointment," IDASA said (SAPA/Polity.org.za, 3/18). In addition, Chirambo said that new electoral models should be developed to address the effect of HIV/AIDS on Africa (Mercury, 3/19).
The study also found that deaths from AIDS-related causes among voters have hindered the ability to maintain registers. "AIDS is a much bigger problem than simply a health crisis," Chirambo said. He added that there are a "number of worrying revelations in this study," including the "large number of younger voters who have died; the rising deaths among MPs and the loss of representation attributed to these deaths; the impact on small or under-resourced opposition parties; and the implications for democratic accountability (SAPA/Polity.org.za, 3/18).
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Advocates Request Support for HIV-Positive People Affected by Floods in Namibia
[Mar 20, 2008]
The Solidarity Community Care Organization is requesting urgent support for HIV-positive people affected by recent flooding in northern areas of Namibia, the Namibian reports. The organization in a recent statement voiced concerns that HIV-positive people who require antiretroviral treatment might be forced to discontinue their medicines because health centers are inaccessible. SCCO Chair Hishiyukifa Mwandingi also said that flood damage has hindered access to checkups and treatment appointments at health facilities.
"We are therefore calling upon all HIV-positive people, especially those on [antiretrovirals] in the affected regions, to take responsibility for their treatment by keeping to their appointments and adhering to their treatment at all times," SCCO said, adding, "Those who are strong must assist the weaker ones to reach health facilities." The group also called on community health workers in the country's Ohangwena and Oshana regions to help ensure that people remain on their antiretroviral regimens. In addition, members of the organization thanked national and regional health authorities for their help in addressing health issues in affected areas, the Namibian reports (Namibian, 3/18).
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Science & Medicine
Male Circumcision Does Not Offer Protection Against Some STIs, Study Finds
[Mar 20, 2008]
Although male circumcision has been found to offer men some protection against HIV, the procedure does not protect against other common sexually transmitted infections -- such as chlamydia, genital warts and genital herpes -- according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, Reuters Health reports.
For the study, Nigel Dickson of the University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine and colleagues examined 499 men born in 1972 and 1973. About 40% of the participants had been circumcised in early childhood, Reuters Health reports. The study found that up to age 32, there were no statistically significant differences in rates of STIs other than HIV between the two groups, with 23.4% and 23.5% of the circumcised and uncircumcised men, respectively, reporting having had any type of STI. The most common STIs reported were genital warts, chlamydia and genital herpes, the study found.
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