Once Upon A Time... .

Once upon a time, death and dying made sense, you died because you were old, you died because some lunatic ran a red light, you died because a snake bit you, you died because your heart arrested. People died in a myriad of ways and obituaries made for an interesting read...

Dorothy Ghettuba blogs from New Mexico where she is attending this years AIDS conference. Read more. And you can RSS to her blog so that you are notified anytime she makes a new entry!

The dollar, circumcision and AIDS

Readers will no doubt have seen the new American strategy on combating HIV/Aids in Kenya and the wider the region as is reported in the local press (Daily Nation 23/08/2007).

The reason for the change in strategy is said to have been occasioned by the recent studies in Kenya and South Africa that indicate that Male circumcision more than halves the chance of contracting HIV/Aids among males (by up to 60%).

Read more from Elijah Marangu here.

Poverty and AIDS

Bosibori Ndemo's article of the 19^th of February got me thinking about the reality of HIV-AIDS and the power of the media in shaping our perceptions on disease.

The dominant view is that the high prevalence rates in Africa are caused by the nature of sexual behaviour there. This view excludes other important factors such as poverty and biological factors. However only the most prejudiced would choose to ignore the fact that HIV has only a 1% prevalence rate in permissive American society, but reach 25% in Africa. Partner exchange rates and unprotected sex have no reason to be higher in Africa than anywhere else. The charge that it is sexual behaviour that sets African infection rates apart has not been made, but it is implicit in an HIV combat strategy that has the ABC doctrine at its core.

Stephen Wanyama links the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa with poverty advocating for improved health care and nutrition across Africa.