Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
26 January 2009
(Page 2 of 2)
Nebraska State Sen. Pete Pirsch (R) on Wednesday introduced a bill (LB 625) that would make having sex with the intent of transmitting HIV a felony, the AP/KPTMNews.com reports. The bill also would make it illegal to donate or sell organs and bodily fluids, including blood and semen, or share a needle with the intention of spreading HIV/AIDS and other diseases. People who violate the law would be committing a Class 1B felony, which carries a minimum 20-year prison sentence and a maximum sentence of life in prison, the AP/KPTMNews.com reports (AP/KPTMNews.com, 1/21).
12 Nebraska Residents on ADAP Waiting List
In related news, about 12 Nebraska residents are on the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list, the University of Nebraska Medical Center said Thursday, the Omaha World-Herald reports. Susan Swindells, medical director of the center's HIV clinic, said the "federal support is vital because these drugs are expensive, and many of our patients do not have the means of paying for this medicine otherwise" (Ruggles, Omaha World-Herald, 1/22).
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Virginia's Eastern Region Has One of State's Highest HIV Rates, Experts Say; Blacks Mostly Affected
[Jan 26, 2009]
In 2008, the Virginia Health Department's Eastern Region had a rate of 19 new HIV infections reported for every 100,000 residents, which is nearly twice the rate in Northern Virginia and higher than the state rate of 12 infections for every 100,000 residents, Newport News Daily Press reports. That same year, there were 332 new HIV infections reported in the region, which includes Hampton Roads, the Middle Peninsula and the Eastern Shore.
One in three of all HIV infections reported in Virginia is in Hampton Roads, which has a large black population, according to Edward Oldfield, director of Eastern Virginia Medical School's Center for the Comprehensive Care of Immune Deficiency. Between 2005 and 2007, the number of new HIV cases on the Peninsula increased by 10%, Oldfield said. The number of new cases in Norfolk increased by 50% during the same period.
Experts say that drug use and other high-risk behaviors are contributing to the spread of HIV in the area's black community. The region historically has had higher rates of sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, the Daily Press reports. High STI rates indicate that people are more likely engaging in activities that increase their risk for contracting HIV, Irma Hinkle, program director for AIDS Care Center for Education and Support Services, said.
"The population that is most at risk [is] the socioeconomically disadvantaged African-Americans," Robert Johnson, director of outbreak response with the state Health Department, said, adding, "We know from years of research that poverty leads to less access to health care, and it leads to less care about care."
Health care workers and HIV advocates in Hampton Roads are encouraging residents to speak openly about HIV, be tested and disclose their status. "The area is so deeply embedded in denial, both on the individual and the community level," Donald Walker, the HIV Early Intervention Services prevention supervisor for the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board, said. "It's those secrets that perpetuate the virus in this community," he said (Finneran, Newport News Daily Press, 1/23).
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Global Challenges
IRIN News Examines Challenges of HIV-Positive Women in Liberia
[Jan 26, 2009]
IRIN News on Thursday examined the challenges of HIV-positive women in Liberia, including unemployment, gender discrimination and violence. According to a 2008 government report, although women account for about half of the 100,000 HIV-positive people in Liberia, women and girls are "doubly disadvantaged" by HIV/AIDS because they often serve as caregivers as well as patients. The report noted that "little is known about how HIV is affecting vulnerable populations" in Liberia, including women, young people, rural residents and children. In addition, violence against women "continues to permeate society and rape is among the most frequently reported crimes," the report said.
According to David Logan, grant coordinator for the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, since 2007 more than 1,000 women living with or affected by HIV/AIDS have participated in job training activities such as basket weaving, fabric dyeing and fish preservation. He added that it is difficult to track whether these women found vocations as a result of the training because "[m]ost beneficiaries use these skills to start small businesses in the informal economy." According to Logan, the Global Fund also has provided funding to establish an Internet cafe that will be operated and managed by HIV-positive employees. The cafe is scheduled to open in the coming weeks, Logan said. He added that the Global Fund plans to use a $78 million grant, allocated for 2009 to 2013, to "expand activities to fight gender inequity, sexual and gender-based violence and unemployment faced by HIV-positive persons." These issues are "all related," Logan said (IRIN News, 1/22).
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