South
African Aids orphans: the grandmothers summit will discuss the impact of losing
adult children, becoming head of a household and raising grandchildren as their
own Photograph: Schalk Van Zuydam/APNews (Updated
May 9, 2010)
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In 2008, almost 9,500
babies were born with syphilis in China, "a 12-fold increase over a five
year period," according to a New England Journal of Medicine perspective
piece, the "China Real Time Report" blog reports, adding that the
resurgence of the disease is "a consequence of China's rapid economic
development" (Canaves, 5/6). "[F]emale sex workers and men who have
sex with men disproportionately bear the burden of the Chinese syphilis
epidemic, in part because unsafe sexual practices in these populations are
driving the rate of infection and in part because the stigma attached to their
sexual behaviors discourages them from obtaining needed care. In
"Syphilis, a
bacterial disease, is curable with antibiotics if treated early, but can cause
paralysis, blindness and death if left untreated. Mothers can pass syphilis to
unborn babies, which can lead to deformities, neurological problems, stillbirths
or death in early infancy," the BBC writes (5/6). According to the
Associated Press, "social stigma remains a huge barrier for people infected
with any sexually transmitted disease, making it important for tests and
treatment to be moved out of doctors' offices and into brothels, clubs and
communities where high-risk groups gather" (Mason, 5/5).
Posted on : 2010-05-05 |
Author : dpa
News Category : Health
Hong Kong - One third of
HIV-positive patients in
Of the 4,443 cases of HIV
reported by the end of 2009, 1,489 involved non-Chinese residents, according to
the
Of 1,106 confirmed Aids
cases in
Foreigners include migrant
workers from other Asian countries, including women from countries such as
However, they also include
foreigners infected outside Hong Kong who come to
In 2008, twice as many
foreigners confirmed as having HIV contracted the infection outside Hong Kong as
in
A spokesman for the Hong
Kong Aids Foundation said residents, whether permanent or non-permanent, could
have a specialist consultation for the equivalent of 7.7 US dollars and
prescriptions for just 1.3 US dollars each.
Some Asian countries such
as
Representatives from 12
countries meet in
David Smith in
guardian.co.uk, Monday 3
May 2010
South
African Aids orphans: the grandmothers summit will discuss the impact of losing
adult children, becoming head of a household and raising grandchildren as their
own Photograph: Schalk Van Zuydam/AP
Their collective wisdom is
incalculable – and so is the collective burden they carry when families are
torn apart by Aids.
A summit of grandparents
in the west might prompt jokes about bingo and dentures, but the inaugural
African Grandmothers' Gathering, starting in
More than 450 grandmothers
from 12 African countries will meet to discuss the impact of losing adult
children to Aids, becoming the head of a household and raising grief-stricken
grandchildren as their own.
These forgotten victims
hope to build a "solidarity movement" across
"It's a lost group, a
lost voice," said Philile Mlotshwa of Swapol (Swaziland Positive Living),
which is organising the event in partnership with the Canadian-based Stephen
Lewis Foundation . "They are the heroes yet no one has gone to them to say
we recognise your efforts."
The organisers say it is
time to heed the "indomitable and indefatigable" grandmothers who step
forward to care for children, sometimes as many as 10 to 15 in one household.
"They are holding together the social fabric of communities across the
continent."
Mlotshwa continued:
"Grandparents have always played an important role in solving disputes and
as a source of knowledge. But now the younger generation is not there: people
aged 29 to 49 are dying from HIV-Aids We are seeing a demographic of the elderly
and the very young who've lost their parents."
She added:
"Grandmothers are at the frontline of the HIV-Aids impact. They have to
pick up the pieces and move on. They don't have time to grieve because the
children need to be looked after. They are doing this without any income.
"They are not healthy
people: they are sick with diabetes and high blood pressure. We are seeing women
who are carrying on in spite of the challenges and the fear of what will happen
to these grandchildren if they die."
Mlotshwa said she hoped
the gathering would raise awareness of grandmothers' needs. "Various
responses to HIV-Aids have been designed but not yet targeted at them."
The grandmothers are
likely to seek international support for grief counselling, access to healthcare
for themselves and children in their care, safe and adequate housing, economic
security, safety from gender-based violence, raising community awareness and
breaking stigma, support in raising grief-stricken grandchildren and access to
education for children.
Grandmothers from
Among them will be
"Mama" Darlina Tyawana, who has six grandchildren and is taking care
of her late sister's grandchild in
Tyawana, who works as a
counsellor helping parents overcome the stigma of HIV, added: "We've got a
battle because we don't only look after our own children. We also give a hand to
the community and give education to other grandparents and people with
HIV."
The African grandmothers
will be joined by a delegation of 42 Canadian grandmothers from the Grandmothers
to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which supports
community-based organisations fighting HIV/Aids in
Stephen Lewis, chair of
the foundation, said: "Grandmothers unsung heroes of
guardian.co.uk © Guardian
News and Media Limited 2010
2010/05/06
SHOCKING HIV/Aids
statistics contained in a recently released survey of the sexual habits of
university students and staff have prompted a massive wellness drive to try to
control infection.
From today,
Spokesperson Ashley
Stander said the “wellness drive” – which forms part of the
institution’s ongoing HIV/Aids work on campus – follows the recent release
of the Higher Education sector HIV/Aids survey report conducted in 2008/2009.
More than 23000
respondents from 21 higher education institutions across the country took part
in the survey – 17062 students, 1880 academic staff and 4433 administration
and service staff.
According to the research,
the
“The HIV/Aids survey
indicated particular areas of concern in the incidence of HIV among
administration and support staff,” said Stander.
Linked to the massive
HIV/Aids wellness drive, free tests will also be conducted for diabetes, high
blood pressure, iron levels and tuberculosis.
A “training session”
of up to 10 minutes will precede the Aids tests, and a “one-on-one session
with a counsellor will take place to finalise the rapid HIV test”.
The drive – over the
next 10 days – will be held at four sites within the university grounds: Biko
Building lawns, Eden Grove bicycle lawns, Kimberley dining hall lawns and the
Drostdy dining hall lawns, and will be open to all Rhodes staff, their immediate
family members, and students.
“The university will
receive support from the government for running this wellness testing drive and,
in the future, for offering free anti-retroviral treatment to staff and families
from the Health Care Centre.”
Government will also
provide all materials needed for the drive free of charge, including a dedicated
social worker to address issues of HIV/Aids with staff for at least one year.
“Since the results are
available within a few minutes, if the staff member is HIV positive he or she
will be sent for further counselling and at the same time be given the
opportunity to have a CD4 cell blood test to establish the type of treatment
needed.”
If the HIV test is
negative the staff member will be given post-testing counselling to ensure they
remain HIV negative. - By DAVID MACGREGOR
Port Alfred Bureau