Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
16 September 2008
Politics and Policy
Ghanaian President Kufuor Thanks Bush for Efforts To Address HIV, Malaria, Other Issues During White House Visit
[Sep 16, 2008]
Ghanaian President John Kufuor on Monday during a visit to the White House praised President Bush for his efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 9/15).
Kufuor during his arrival ceremony said the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the President's Malaria Initiative have helped African nations fight HIV/AIDS and malaria and have "dramatically increased financial resources to Ghana" and other countries affected by the diseases. Bush during Kufuor's arrival ceremony said that Ghana and the U.S. "stand as one in [their] work to free people from disease."
Bush added that Ghana and the U.S. have "protected hundreds of thousands of people from malaria" and that the two countries this month will begin distributing medicines to eight million people under an initiative to address neglected tropical diseases (White House release [1], 9/15). Kufuor said that the "hefty support" Ghana has received from PMI is "very welcome" and that the country "hope[s] to take [the funding] even further" by "employing technologies and more scientific research" (White House release [2], 9/15).
Kufuor also praised Bush for his efforts to promote economic development in Africa (AFP/Google.com, 9/15). Bush praised Ghana's efforts to fight "corruption" and "secure freedom from poverty" and said the U.S. is "proud to support these efforts" through the Millennium Challenge Account, which has helped improve agriculture and infrastructure in Ghana (White House release [1], 9/15). Kufuor after thanking Bush called on wealthy and developing countries to work together on development issues. "We believe the developed, as well as the developing countries, should feel that we are in the boat together and that we must learn to sail together, or perhaps we sink together," Kufuor said (AFP/Google.com, 9/15).
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Global Challenges
HIV/AIDS Center in Poland Launches Campaign To Curb Spread of Disease
[Sep 16, 2008]
Poland's National AIDS Centre has launched a campaign called "Return Without HIV" aimed at encouraging people to take HIV tests after traveling to regions with high HIV/AIDS burdens, The News reports. According to the center, people between ages 18 and 39 are most at risk of HIV in Poland in part because they often travel without their partners. In addition, risky sexual behavior during holiday trips now is one of the most common ways of contracting HIV in the country, the center said. The campaign was launched in July and will end on Dec. 1, 2009, which is World AIDS Day.
The campaign also encourages people to practice safer-sex behaviors at all times, even when traveling. "No matter who you are, where you are, what you do or what your beliefs are, HIV and AIDS might also concern you," a campaign message says. According to the center, although many Polish citizens are aware of HIV/AIDS, they do not believe they are at risk of the disease. The number of new HIV infections in Poland could be decreased by 30% if HIV-positive people were aware of their status and took prevention measures, the center said. Anonymous HIV tests are offered at no-cost in Poland, according to The News (The News, 9/15).
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More Teenagers Taking HIV Tests in Malawi, Survey Finds
[Sep 16, 2008]
An increasing percentage of teenagers in Malawi have taken an HIV test during the past two years, according to a Welfare Monitoring Survey recently released by the National Statistical Office, Malawi's Nation Reporter reports. According to the survey, the percentage of Malawians older than age 15 who have ever received an HIV test increased from 20% in 2006 to 34% in 2007. The age group surveyed is the most affected by the disease, which has led to losses for Malawi's work force and contributed to an increase in AIDS orphans in the country, according to the Reporter. Mary Shawa -- principal secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet responsible for HIV/AIDS and nutrition -- said that the increase in testing is because of government initiatives aimed at combating the disease.
"The initiatives government has set such as testing week, the decentralization of testing centers and the introduction and intensification of prevention of mother-to-child transmission are some of the factors that have led to this," Shawa said, adding, "The existence of mobile test centers and the lobbying of people to get tested through open days where testing facilities are available also encourage people to get tested." According to Shawa, the availability of antiretroviral therapy also has contributed to people's willingness to receive HIV tests.
According to the survey, among participants who responded that they had not been tested, 32% said they were not at risk of HIV, while 38% said they were not interested. The survey also found that 10% of participants who had not been tested said they feared the outcome of the test. Shawa said that to address these issues, the government will bolster community-based services and make testing centers more accessible to people who are unable to travel long distances to receive HIV tests (Nation Reporter, 9/15).
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India Witnessing Growth of 'High-Price' Commercial Sex Workers, Reuters Reports
[Sep 16, 2008]
A new group of "high-price" commercial sex workers is emerging in India and "servicing India's nouveau riche and the throng of foreign businessmen drawn to a booming economy," Reuters reports. Although the group largely constitutes educated women from middle-class families who consider sex work a "lucrative and even glamorous profession," many sex workers in India -- which has the world's third highest HIV/AIDS caseload -- are HIV-positive and are forced into the work by "crushing poverty," according to Reuters.
The growth of "high-end" sex work in the country highlights not only the affluence of India's upper classes but also the "changing role of women in a deeply conservative society," Reuters reports. Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research in New Delhi, said, "Only 2% to 3% of India's prostitutes enter the profession willingly. These are the high-class girls, and it is them exercising their democratic rights." Anuja Agrawal, a sociologist at the University of Delhi, said, "With the changes in the economy and increased consumerism, the Indian woman is under pressure to conform to a highly capitalistic image which requires a lot of money to upkeep," adding, "If Indian society were to really allow their women to be free, they won't be forced to conform to such a rigid behavior." Commercial sex work is illegal in India, but some groups estimate that there are two million sex workers in the country (Lee, Reuters, 9/14).
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Sex-for-Fish Practice in Kenyan Fishing Communities Contributing to Spread of HIV
[Sep 16, 2008]
A practice within some Kenyan fishing communities in which young female fish sellers develop sexual relationships with fishermen and middlemen in exchange for fish is exposing a new generation to HIV, IRIN/PlusNews reports. According to statistics from the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, HIV prevalence among Kenyans in the fishing industry was 30.5% in 2006.
IRIN/PlusNews reports that the practice, known as jaboya, often is the only way for fish traders to make a living. In addition, competition for a "catch that is often less than plentiful means offering their own bodies is no longer enough, so desperate traders have now resorted to making available their younger" female relatives -- many of whom are younger than age 18 -- to "ensure they have an edge," according to IRIN/PlusNews.
Charles Okal -- acting provincial medical officer for Nyanza Province, which has an HIV prevalence of 15.3% -- said the main cause of the new trend in jaboya is increased poverty. In addition, young girls "are lured into this kind of business to make quick money to fit into urban life," Okal said. He added that the government is planning to establish HIV/AIDS programs with local youth groups to target young girls involved in the sex-for-fish trade. In addition, Kenya's Centre for the Study of Adolescence reports that Nyanza has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country and that girls in the province begin sexual activity earlier than their counterparts in other regions. According to CSA, the main reasons for this include poverty and lack of access to comprehensive sex education, including information about HIV/AIDS.
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