by frog
Another year rolls around and we are once again reminded of the scourge that continues to gather pace across the globe. Despite a peak of new cases in 2005, NZ continues to struggle with 2+ new HIV cases per week. Complacency amongst middle aged men and the resurgence of bareback porn are both considered to be behind the high infection rate.
The NZ Aids Foundation is at the forefront and regularly holds community forums to try and figure out how to get the safe sex message out there without sounding like a broken record. The 2007 report can be found here.
Here are some of the global trends, sourced from Avert.org:
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans.
At the end of 2007, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% in sub-Saharan Africa.
Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide.
In developing and transitional countries, 9.7 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 2.99 million (31%) are receiving the drugs.
The number of people living with HIV has risen from around 8 million in 1990 to 33 million today, and is still growing. Around 67% of people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa.
My heart goes out to all those living with HIV/Aids and all those who work the front lines every day of the year. Keep up the good work.
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
…and those two thirds that won’t get life saving medicine? Is that because of lack of funding.
Does Pharmac cover the costs of AIDs medicine in NZ?
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Those 2/3rds who wont get life saving medicine live in Africa and don’t have any money for the drugs so they wont get any drugs.
Look AIDS is a very preventable disease it just requires the leadership and the people to be responsible. Something that hasn’t happened in Africa.
The lefts postion of if we spend lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of money then problem xyz will just dissapear is so childish and has never worked or will ever work.
AIDS in africa will not be solved until african’s start being responsible and dealing with it. You can’t control people we are not robots.
I help africa all the time for example everytime someone asks me to donate money to some african charity and I tell them to sod off and in doing so I help africans.
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This issue is a classic example of how political correctness kills people.
Out side of Africa HIV infections afflict “certain” people more than others, yet it is considered pollitically incorrect to talk about the elephant in the room, so the ignorance and infection continues.
Until people a prepared to deal with reality in the western world why should the west be preaching to Africa?
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Shunda barunda Says:
December 1st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
> This issue is a classic example of how political correctness kills people.
Out side of Africa HIV infections afflict “certain” people more than others, yet it is considered pollitically incorrect to talk about the elephant in the room, so the ignorance and infection continues.
HIV afflicts predominantly gay men, IV drug users, haemophiliacs and black africans. Since when has anyone been avoiding talking about that?
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I think Shundra is getting at the fact it is often pitched at everyone, equally. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, however – it is still a risk.
>>and black africans.
Does anyone know why this is? Is it genetic? Or the fact this group might more likely be one of the other at risk groups? Both?
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Turnip28,
While your statement is extremely harsh, I think it does contain some truth in it.
When the scourge of AIDS started in the 1980’s in South Africa it was seen against the background of the racial conflict in that country and not seen as a priority at all. Over the years, it has generally remained a low priority issue until it became “the elephant in the room” that could no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, the political leadership decided to be “AIDS denialists”. The Minister of health of the time, Manto Tshabalala Mtsimang claimed that AIDS was caused by “lifestyle” and poor nutrition and prescribed beetroot and garlic. To make matters worse a vitamin supplier got in on the act and engaged in an active campaign to dissuade people with AIDS or that are HIV positive not to take antiviral drugs but to take vitamins instead.
The non-government sector, particularly the Treatment Action Campaign had to drag the government through the courts to get them to do some thing and to get interdicts to stop the campaign to undermine the use of anti-viral drugs.
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-03-14-judgement-reserved-on-tac-vs-ra th
A study at Harvard University estimates that 330 000 plus South Africans died as a direct result of government policy. The current infection rate of the population is 18 % – imagine approximately 1 out of 5/6 persons are HIV positive or has AIDS and link this to a high incidence of sexual crimes such as rape.
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-11-27-mbeki-aids-policy-led-to-330nbs p000-deaths-say-researchers
http://www.iolhivaids.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1596&fArticleId=47343 98
The AIDS pandemic has led to a huge increase in the number of “AIDS orphans” on South African streets. With their care givers either to ill to provide for them or dead these children have to fend for themselves and generally turn to crime to do so. There are hopelessly inadequate government systems to care for them and again the NGOs carry the burden.
http://www.iolhivaids.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1591&fArticleId=46826 28
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2006-09-17-calls-to-halt-nevirapine
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Icebaby well their was some research done on a genetic mutation caused by the bubonic plague which may have resulted in some europeans carrying a gene that makes them more resistent to HIV.
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Here is a very good general info about HIV and AIDS in South Africa and sub -saharan Africa.
http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm
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I think the increased incidence of AIDS among black africans has to do more with policy, as johan pointed out, and in some areas culture, i remmember watching a documentry about polygamy in certain african countries, with one small country having an almost complete infection because of this.
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As for infection in white countries; i blame the free love movement, lol, if we had just kept to our christian values it would have been able to spread even faster and unseen and we wouldint realise it was outside the norm
Turnip,
STD’s are primarily, though not always, ones own fault but they are one of the few cases where i support throwing money, in the form of treatment, at someones stupidity as it decreases further infection and as such is far more likle yto benefit society than leaving the person to spread it further.
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In NZ it is predominantly an issue for gay/bisexual men. In Africa, it is predominantly an issue for heterosexual women. The important vectors in Africa are intravenous drug use, prostitutes and migrant male workers/ truck drivers. The male workers are the primary vectors. They tend to use prostitutes (sometimes drug users themselves), they can get involved in drugs and then when they return to their rural homes they infect their spouses, who in turn may or may not be faithful.
My main point is that you cannot stereotype the disease, try as you might by your allusions about elephants in the room. It just doesn’t wash.
As an interesting side point, Somalia has one of the lowest HIV/AIDS rates in sub-saharan Africa, in fact in the world. Why? Because the civil war and the resultant clan based geography prevents men/truck drivers from crossing clan lines. Only the trucks themselves cross the checkpoints, with drivers swapping for a truck coming the other way and staying within their own clan areas. Prostitution is about the same as elsewhere, but without the men moving around, STDs tend to stay confined and usually get treated. IV drug abuse is virtually non existent in Somalia. (Qat is the preferred drug of choice and is chewed.) Homosexuality exists but is deep underground, and again the men cannot travel. All the traditional vectors are curbed.
It is the ignorant responses of the politicians, often stereotyping just like many on this thread, that has lead to the explosion of AIDS around the globe.
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“My main point is that you cannot stereotype the disease, try as you might by your allusions about elephants in the room.”
Yet you started your post with:
“In NZ it is predominantly an issue for gay/bisexual men.”
Much of the gay community has promoted aids as everybodies problem, when the facts suggest otherwise. Discrimination can be a positive thing when dealing with these kinds of issues, and infact is necessary.
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Ah, Shunda? AIDS is everybody’s problem. I don’t think caraka was stereotyping by his/her statement. We all pay the price financially and socially. Just because the majority of new cases in NZ are in the gay/bisexual community doesn’t mean that they all are. And just what sort of discrimination are you proposing, and in what way would it be a positive thing or a necessary thing? Say what you mean man, you are waffling.
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caraka Says:
December 1st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
> As an interesting side point, Somalia has one of the lowest HIV/AIDS rates in sub-saharan Africa, in fact in the world. Why? Because the civil war and the resultant clan based geography prevents men/truck drivers from crossing clan lines.
I’ve got an intriguing question for you, Caraka. When I look at maps of HIV prevalence, it’s not just Somalia that stands out as unaffected in Africa. All the muslim countries of northern Africa stand out as reasonably unaffected. why is this?
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“And just what sort of discrimination are you proposing, and in what way would it be a positive thing or a necessary thing?”
Helping the people that need help, and educating people about the most at risk sexual behaviour.
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# Shunda barunda Says:
December 1st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
> Helping the people that need help, and educating people about the most at risk sexual behaviour.
new Green MP Kevin Hague used to be director of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, doing just that.
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Sheesh.
Big ads on buses, last year – there are women living with HIV/AIDS in NZ, not all contracted from needle-stick injuries, either.
Bi men, and those gay guys who still have an occasional hasbian friend on the side, are also transmission factors to women – ‘cos Queer comes in many different forms and fantasies.
But don’t let me distract you from your misconceptions.
The main problem with sub-saharan Africa is prostitution; truck drivers get more than meals and diesel at truck-stops. AIDS has increased transmission rates in countries where supplies of condoms dry up.
Same pattern is forming in India, along the distribution routes for goods.
Countries where the major religion curbs prostitution, through lack of cutomers, have lower infection rates.
Islam is actually very effective in this matter, much more so than the nominally christian western countries, where rates of infection for HIV/AIDS are climbing, along with ex-nuptial birth-rates, due to abstinence and anti-contraception programes, which don’t address the reality of modern teen life – the kids experiment with sex!
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Sheesh.
Big ads on buses, last year – there are women living with HIV/AIDS in NZ, not all contracted from needle-stick injuries, either.
Bi men, and those gay guys who still have an occasional hasbian friend on the side, are also transmission factors to women – ‘cos Queer comes in many different forms and fantasies.
But don’t let me distract you from your misconceptions.
The main problem with sub-saharan Africa is prostitution; truck drivers get more than meals and diesel at truck-stops. AIDS has increased transmission rates in countries where supplies of condoms dry up.
Same pattern is forming in India, along the distribution routes for goods.
Countries where the major religion curbs prostitution, through lack of cutomers, have lower infection rates.
Islam is actually very effective in this matter, much more so than the nominally christian western countries, where rates of infection for HIV/AIDS are climbing, along with ex-nuptial birth-rates, due to abstinence and anti-contraception programes, which don’t address the reality of modern teen life – the kids experiment with sex!
There’s an excellent course on Queer Studies taught at Victoria University, if anyone needs further enlightenment …
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/study/subjects/coursecatalogue.aspx?cou rse=GEND-213
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That would be interesting; unfortunatly we dont have a similar course up here at massey
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I’d be really concerned if I had to receive a blood transfusion.
Do they just rely on self-reported risky behaviour to identify who should not donate blood, or is there now effective testing of every single litre of blood donated??
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# greengeek Says:
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
> Do they just rely on self-reported risky behaviour to identify who should not donate blood, or is there now effective testing of every single litre of blood donated??
that’s something that has concerned me, too. I do worry that the rule of not accepting blood from gay men may be creating a false sense of security on HIV, because it doesn’t eliminate all donors who might have HIV, and therefore you still need to test. And if you’re going to test all the blood anyway, why do you need a rule like that?
But I’ve since heard that what they do is mix together blood donations of the same blood type, then test the mixture, because they can’t afford to test each donation separately. If this is true, then it does make sense, in that all the blood gest tested, but it’s still worth screening out people at high risk, because every contaminated donation contaminates an entire batch.
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Hmmm. It would be interesting to know what percentage of batches get rejected.
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