One of the things I have been bitching about since I got to Xai-Xai is that there is very little attention paid to cultural affairs/events. During holidays, there are the obligatory women's/youth groups that dance and sing and say "Oye (insert occasion or organization here)!!!!" and "Mata SIDA!!!!!" (Kill AIDS!!!). But there is rarely an occasion where you see a mass gathering of people to just celebrate Mozambican (or Shangana) culture. Maybe it's because most people "celebrate their culture" enough on any average day of living- the work that goes into their farms and houses and families seem like cultural staples that have been around quite a while.

I was very happy to see the festival come to Xai-Xai. It not only brought a lot of people to the Southern region of Mozambique who had never seen this part of the country before, but it injected a bit of life into the population here. It also got vendors and businesses excited enough so that many did some refurbishing of their businesses. It was great to just meet people on the way to work who were from places I have never seen like Tet and Niassa. The presence of the President and Minister of Culture also lit a fire under the provincial government's butt to make some quick fixes to the road (which are already back to being horrible) and some construction of some new buildings in the downtown area that used to look like bombed out war relics (despite the fact that the war never really reached Xai-Xai; the condition is due only to negligence.)

A couple highlights:

- I was told by an acquaintance at the kick-off party that (and I'm paraphrasing) "Mozambique is so great that I could pass out drunk in the middle of this party [which was quite big] I would wake up in the morning with my wallet and keys and phone still in my pockets... that doesn't happen in South Africa for sure!"

Well, thank god for that! That's why I love Mozambique too!!!

- At the film night that I went to, they showed a film about a woman who is beaten by her husband while eventually becoming pregnant with his child. Soon after she is encouraged to get a HIV test, which comes out positive. Her sister convinces her husband to support the mother (read: not beat her and protect her against discrimination) and due to regular check-ups and treatment, the baby is born and raised HIV negative (the Dad also realizes that he is HIV-positive).

The film was good in the approach it takes to female empowerment and the importance of family in the fight against HIV. The only bummer was that the film was all in Shangana, a Bantu dialect that is spoken only below the Save River. All of those participants from Tet or Sofala or Cabo Delgado or Nampula (among others) couldn't understand what the people were saying. Subtitles were obviously needed.

Good News: There were subtitles

Bad News: The subtitles were in ENGLISH!!! (Doh!)

- I had clam stew, chicken zambeziana (coconut and spices), and matapa with shrimp at the food expo- and that was just at the Zambezia stand! They totally beat the pants off the other provinces in the cooking department. Gaza was kind of boring, but still good. Nampula had dried fish... really?! Couldn't get some regular fish?!?! Interesting that "Maputo City" had a different booth than "Maputo Province" and yet they ahd basically the same thing.

- The craft fair was cool. It was split into provinces like most other expositions. You could see that certain provinces have been much more influenced by western culture and art than others. For example, the Manica section, with a city close to the Zimbabwean border (which up until a few years ago was an advantage for getting supplies) had crafts that used a lot of synthetic paint as well as more mechanized ways of sculpting wood and other mediums. The Niassa section has contact with, well, no one, and it shows. Their crafts mostly dealt with mats, pants and hats made of pulverized and dyed reeds. IT was really cool to see the differences between the crafts that each area had to offer. Unfortunately, they only let "official photographers" take pictures.

- The Zambezia delegation included students from a fellow PCV's JOMA theater group. If that isn't proof that JOMA helps kids develop their skills in areas of communication that leads to better/interesting opportunities, then I will quit (go Mocuba!!!!)

- I went and saw the National ballet company. It was pretty interesting, esp for someone who has only watched about 2 hours worth of ballet (and that was because it was in the Robert Altman movie The Company, not one of his best). I just felt bad for the guys who were int he middle of their routine and the CD player kept skipping, sometimes throwing them off the beat. Can we get a CD in this country that isn't scratched to hell?!?!?!For the National Ballet Company, please?!?!?!

- The kick-off concert was great. I showed you one of the clips as a test of the google video application, which seems to have worked. A couple more 30 second clips are posted below. It exhibited different languages, a bunch of really good Timbila players and some ridiculous dancing. Here are a couple more videos from the concert. I know that 30 seconds are such a tease, but it gives you some idea of the fun I had.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2293959530098704188&hl=en]

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6705045420763903876&hl=en]

FYI- My Mom gets here in less than a week (Wednesday the 30th to be exact).

Holy crap is this going to be fun.

Ok, tchau, 'brigado.

"Vi vill införa sprututbytesprogram i Stockholms län. ... Det är skandal att ett ensamt borgerligt landstingsråd i Stockholm kan stoppa detta trots bred politisk majoritet i både kommunen och landstinget."

Grunden för min del är enkel och empirisk: Om det finns belägg för att sprutbytesprogram minskar smittospridning utan negativa effekter på andra variabler är sådana program bra. Och det verkar finnas gott om sådana belägg.

• Enligt en forskningsgranskning av forskare vid Socialhögskolan i Lund.
• Enligt en rapport från Cochrane Collaborative Review Group on HIV Infection and AIDS:

"Effective HIV prevention interventions among injection drug users include peer outreach, methadone maintenance and needle exchange programs."

• Enligt ett dokument från den amerikanska myndigheten Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

"An impressive body of evidence suggests powerful effects from needle exchange programs. ... Studies show reduction in risk behavior as high as 80%, with estimates of a 30% or greater reduction of HIV in IDUs."

• Enligt en översikt från det australiensiska Department of Health and Aging:

"There is abundant evidence from Australia and international research of the substantial public health benefits of Needle and Syringe Programs. The Australian Medical Association supports Needle and Syringe Programs as one of a number of measures which prevent the spread of HIV and other blood borne diseases."*

Se ett tidigare inlägg om hur sprutbytesmotståndare är utopister, inte realister.

_______________________

*För den som vill fördjupa sig ytterligare kan bl.a. dessa studier nämnas:

Bastos, F. I. och Strathdee, S. A. (2000). "Evaluating Effectiveness of Syringe Exchange Programs: Current Issues and Future Prospects." Social Science & Medicine, 51(12): 1771—1782.

Des Jarlais, D. C., McKnight, C. och Milliken, J. (2004). “Public Funding of US Syringe Exchange Programs." Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 81(1): 118—121.

Lurie, P. och Drucker, E. (1997). "An Opportunity Lost: HIV Infections Associated with Lack of a National Needle Exchange Program in the USA." The Lancet, 349(9062): 604—608.

MacDonald, M., Law, M., Kaldor, J., Hales, J. och Dore, G. J. (2003). "Effectiveness of Needle and Syringe Programmes for Preventing HIV Transmission." International Journal of Drug Policy, 14(5—6): 353—357.

Rich, J. D., McKenzie, M., Macalino, G. E., Taylor, L. E., Sanford-Colby, S., Wolf, F., McNamara, S., Mehrotra, M. och Stein, M. D. (2004). "A Syringe Prescription Program to Prevent Infectious Disease and Improve Health of Injection Drug Users." Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 81(1): 122—134.

Researchers said it meant HIV was now effectively a chronic condition like diabetes, rather than a fatal disease, the Lancet reported.

The team, involving Bristol University staff, looked at over 43,000 patients.

The study found a person now diagnosed at 20 years old could expect to live for another 49 years.

But the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration, which includes scientists from across Europe and Northern America, warned this was still short of the life expectancy for the wider population which stands at about 80.

These advances have transformed HIV from being a fatal disease, which was the reality for patients before the advent of combination treatment, into a long-term chronic condition Professor Jonathan Sterne, lead researcher

Antiretroviral treatment for HIV consists of drugs which work against the infection itself by slowing down the replication of the virus in the body.

This method of therapy was introduced in the 1990s, but has since become more effective and better tolerated.

The researchers looked at life expectancy during three time periods after the introduction of the drugs - 1996-9, 2000-2 and 2003-5 - in high income countries.

Just over 2,000 patients died during the study periods.

They found that while patients aged 20 diagnosed in the 1990s could expect to live another 36 years, that had increased by 13 years by 2003-5.

During the middle time period, life expectancy stood at an extra 41 years.

Success

Lead researcher Professor Jonathan Sterne said: "These advances have transformed HIV from being a fatal disease, which was the reality for patients before the advent of combination treatment, into a long-term chronic condition."

He added the development was a "testament" to the success of the anti-HIV drugs.

But the researchers warned those diagnosed later in the course of the infection had a much shorter life expectancy.

Marc Thompson, deputy head of health promotion at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "HIV medication has become much more effective since the early days.

"There has been great progress, but research needs to continue, especially for those who have developed resistance to some drugs and are running out of options."

But he added the study also highlighted the need for early diagnosis, pointing out an estimated a third of people with HIV do not know they have it.

• Unknown, suspected swollen feet
• Unknown, but suspect headache
• Unknown, but suspect poisoning (this one had committed suicide by eating weevil tablets - an extremely strong poison)

Some people have the worm, others the bug. Some suffer from slim disease and others from “five plus three.” But until we start calling the sickness by its name and until we admit what caused people’s death, we will always be living in denial.
In the article mentioned above, I started by quoting from an article which was once published in a Swaziland newspaper:

Saturday night has become the night of vigils, of traditional Swazi wakes, when friends and relatives gather to feast and to mourn the deaths of young people, the cream of the nation. As the AIDS pandemic gathers pace, Swaziland has entered an endless season of mourning.
The vigils are announced publicly in death notices that fill a page, or often two pages, in the local newspapers every day. Many are accompanied by photographs which show that almost all the victims are in their twenties or early thirties. The language of the announcements is both quaint and evasive: George Shongwe is late; Zodwa Madolo, nee Diamini, died suddenly and is late, Cynthia Zwane is late. Friends and relatives are informed that the vigil will be on Saturday night, the funeral early the next morning.
There is no hint of the cause of these deaths, though everybody knows. The universal human response to AIDS is denial. It is as though nobody can face the awful reality of a calamity that rivals the great plagues of history.

Unfortunately, too many people, both in the affected countries as well as in the West are still in denial - an ideal breeding ground for this virus to grow in.

The HIV epidemic is shaking up Zimbabwe, like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the shock is being reflected in the collapse of the public health-care system.

According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2006 World Health Report, the African continent bears 24% of the global burden of disease but has only 3% of the global health-care workforce and 1% of the world’s financial resources.

The report identifies 57 countries that cannot meet a widely accepted basic standard for health-care coverage by physicians, nurses and midwives; 36 of these ‘critical countries’ are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The WHO estimates that it will take an additional 2.4 million physicians, nurses and midwives to meet current needs, along with an additional 1.9 million pharmacists, health aides, technicians and other auxiliary personnel.

In simple terms, the public health-care system can no longer accommodate the millions of ill people who require medical attention, care and support. Ironically, the money that is flowing into Zimbabwe to combat HIV has done little to resolve the problems of the poor and weakened public health systems – problems made worse by the ‘brain drain’ of qualified medical personnel.

Critically ill people, it seems, are being offloaded from the public health system onto the community. Increasingly, the burden of HIV care is being borne at the community level, particularly at the household level, where much of the care work and support costs for people living with HIV (PLHIV) are now being taken on.

Caring for sick relatives has been a traditional practice in Zimbabwe, but only at an informal level. Today, it is a bulwark that is indispensable in efforts to respond effectively to HIV and TB.

As the HIV epidemic mushroomed in 1990, it became apparent that there was a need to institutionalize the process of home-based care to cater for the huge numbers of people in need. Consequently, community-based organizations have emerged to fulfil the need for the care and support of PLHIV.

Throughout Zimbabwe, innovative programmes are emerging to compensate for the shortages in the health-care system. More often than not, women are in the vanguard of care and support work for sick people. Men have tended to remain in the back seat in performing care work. A key challenge for community-based organizations has been how to influence men’s involvement in the care of sick people in the community.

Caregivers need to be adequately trained and equipped to make a difference to their clients. Currently, caregivers have to make do with very few resources and this significantly undermines the work that they do.

When caregivers lack adequate supplies in their home-based care kits, it can increase their risk of HIV exposure and the respect that they garner within the community can be diminished.

In addition, many caregivers are very poor, and the time that they commit to care work could be devoted to raising incomes for their households. As the HIV epidemic unfolds in Zimbabwe, it is clear that there will be greater demands on the services that caregivers provide. This will mean that caregivers will need to be fully equipped with the appropriate knowledge to enable them to cope with these new demands.

More importantly, home-based care programmes will need to develop innovative ways to support the livelihood needs of volunteer caregivers so that they can fulfill their roles within the community without distraction.

No glove, no love. Please ladies love yourselves because if you don't love yourself you can't give love. One may argue that reasons for keeping a child would be: trying to keep their man, don't believe in abortion, lack of love, the new "trend" -- "you have one, i want one too", accident "opps, the condom broke" OR "he pulled out before he came", "If I got his baby, he gon' be tied to me for 18 years! CHILD SUPPORT", or the plain and simple "I just want a baby, cause they're so cute", and some of us just don't know any better

" People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy after. "(1)

It's hard to raise a child, huggies cost too much! Food, care, time to show love and devotion for your child. I'm not knocking having a baby in your teenage years, but realize what you're getting yourself into. 

Unprotected sex is NOT cool.  You don't know what "j0NH D0e" might have no matter how "clean" he looks, you don't know if he fucked a "dirty" bitch last week raw.  Her shit is gon' come right back to you.  Be careful, be aware of the fact that diseases are spreading rapidly.

US

• Roughly one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.
• Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, 1.5 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than 524,000 have died of AIDS.
• At least 40,000 people are infected each year.
• African Americans account for 48% of new HIV infections.
• AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25 to 34 and HIV rates among Hispanic women are increasing.
• The number of women living with HIV has tripled in the last two decades.
• At least half of all new infections are among people under the age of 25.
• Washington, DC has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the United States - one in 20 people are living with HIV or AIDS.

(1) Goldsmith

Normally we have prayer and praise every Wednesday night, but since most of the youth group is gone, it was decided we wouldn't have it this week. But someone got things together and a few of us still met last night. We got together to talk about unity- how God works in numbers and He works in expectancy. We got together to pray for those there right now.

Someone mentioned what they're seeing right now. He mentioned the poverty. And he mentioned this guy that lost his wife and children in the hurricane. Everyone's expression changed, sympathy, sorrow, and an attitude of prayer.

On a normal night, I would've been right there with them. Supportive, sympathetic... Wanting and praying for change to come to that area. Praying for movement.

After Africa, though, I wonder if there will ever be a "normal" night for me again. He mentioned the poverty. He mentioned death.

Images, like a movie, played in my head. The shanty towns in South Africa. Even the most poverty stricken areas here have it off better than them. And even still, they were better off than a lot in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho. Mud huts. The "Basotho salute", asking for money, for food, for anything. The kids in only a tshirt. Images like these and worse make it hard for me to feel the same about those in New Orleans as the rest do.

Images. Repetitive. Ingrained. The double orphans who lost both parents from AIDS. Who now live with a grandmother who is also dying from AIDS. The 50 year old woman lying on a dung floor, her body under a blanket appears as that of a small child. Lifting her head up, she is, in the absolute most literal sense, 'skin and bones'. She probably isn't alive now, even though I saw her a couple weeks ago.

I will still hear stories from New Orleans, travel to East St. Louis, and have a wave of sorrow wash over me, being compelled to action. But even then, those images from Ha Seshote, Chiena, and the numerous other villages will resurface and compete for my attention. It won't be like it was before that life changing trip, I will no longer travel to East St. Louis, the most poverty stricken city in the US, and be able to look at it the same way, knowing those people live in mansions compared to what the Basotho live in, and the Basotho take better care of what they do have, more grateful, more generous.

The people, though, right on my doorstep need to know the saving grace offered by my Isa just as much as the Basotho. Which is what kills me. But I fear I'm forever ruined. For better or worse is yet to be known.

I do know, though, that I will never look at anything through the same eyes as before.

kadi.

GAZA CITY - 23 July 2008 - At the hastily-convened pre-Olympic meeting of the council of Jerusalem in exile today the leaders of the Jerusalem church met and decided to embrace Gentile converts of all races and colours. But still not creeds.

Leading Galatians including Christiane Amanpour, Stephen Sacker, Anderson Cooper 359, Mike Wallace, Maureen Dowd, David Frost but only on Sunday and Jeremy Paxman debated long into the morning who should be Peter and Paul’s chosen one. “Under no circumstance,” said Amanpour most uncharacteristically modest and reserved, “will I agree to anyone opposing the Christian Pharisees who insisted on circumcision and the rest of the Mosaic Tiled Floor law.”

The man called Cephas (also known as Barack) to everyone’s surprise quickly emerged as the favourite among the 12 candidates. And became the uncontested leader of the apostles, when Bill and Hilary bitched acrimoniously on last night’s Larry King’s show about her squandering $25 million of his hardly-earned book royalties.

Cephas was originally from Winnetka on the northern shore of the sea of Galilee. He was married and before entering public life fished often with his brother Andrew. His first home was in Capernaum, Wisconsin and suspicion exists that he got it without a sub-prime mortgage not from Freddie Mercury and/or Fanny Big Mac but from a shady Idaho toilet fixture salesman calling himself highly recommended by Senator Larry Craig.

When Wolf Blitzer and Tim Russert (before his untimely death at the hands of stoning disbelievers) called him to be Apostle Numero Uno to appeal to Hispanic voters, he was given the added name Obama (Aramaic: “stone,” Greek: “Petros,” which in English is rendered as Barack Obama).

One trait of Cephas’ character that stands out in the Newest Testament account, is his impetuosity.

Like Peter, Cephas is famous for many things: For walking on water and climbing 35 floors up the outside facade at The New York Times’ without a safety net, for rebuking Anderson Cooper 359 for what seemed to him negative thinking (prompting Bill O’Reilly’s sharp reply “Get behind Me Satan”), for a frankly-suggestive statement to Zenab Badawi during the washing of feet during a BBC World programme and for being granted the singular privilege of an individual post-resurrection appearance by Mitt Romney.

When Rupert Murdoch asked him “Who do you say I am?” Cephas smiled - as he does so well - and said, “You are the Mighty One, the Son of the Living with Martha Stewart and Gordon Ramsey. But wait until I am anointed in your steed (Ed. Surely that should be “stead”) and you grasp my clammy cold hands next January.” (Matthew 16:15-16.)

The drug, known as raltegravir (Isentress), almost doubles the likelihood that patients will beat back the AIDS virus despite being immune to other medications, according to a study in the July 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"We now have a drug that can bring many people back from a downward curve with no hope for resurrection of the immune system and no hope for control of the virus," said study author Dr. Roy Steigbigel, head of the HIV Center at Stony Brook University.

The federal government has already approved raltegravir for use in so-called "salvage therapy," based on early findings from this study. But the completed research—funded by Merck & Co., the drug's manufacturer—shows that the raltegravir continues to work over time, Steigbigel said.

While AIDS has become much more treatable over the past 12 years, thanks to a new generation of drugs, some patients continue to develop resistance to medications. Despite the medical advances, the AIDS virus in the body can learn to evolve into new forms that aren't susceptible to the killing power of drugs.

Patients who don't follow their drug regimens to the letter are most likely to become immune to the drugs, but even the most careful patients can develop resistance, Steigbigel said.

To complicate matters, some patients are immune to drugs, because they were infected by someone with a resistant strain of the AIDS virus.

Raltegravir is unique, because it's part of a new class of AIDS drugs, meaning the virus hasn't encountered it before. "There aren't going to be viruses out there that are resistant to this," Steigbigel said. "That's why it's considered somewhat of a breakthrough."

In the new study, AIDS patients randomly received either raltegravir or a placebo. The patients all received doses of other drugs that are routinely prescribed to help patients in their conditions.

At the 16th week of the study, 62 percent of 458 patients who took raltegravir saw their HIV levels drop to a low level—below 50 copies per milliliter. Only 35 percent of those who took the placebo saw their levels go that low.

The levels remained consistent when patients were tested at the 48th week. As for side effects, there were about as many among both groups.

Rowena Johnston, vice president of research for The Foundation for AIDS Research, said the development of better treatments for drug-resistant AIDS patients is crucial.

"Rates of drug resistance have increased steadily in the developed world because of the difficulties associated with adhering to treatment regimens," she said. "This problem will surely be multiplied several-fold as patients in the developing world are exposed to antiretroviral therapy for increasing lengths of time."

More information

Learn more about raltegravir from aidsinfonet.org.

SOURCES: Roy Steigbigel, M.D., professor, medicine, and chief, HIV Center, Stony Brook University, N.Y.; Rowena Johnston, Ph.D., vice president, research, Foundation for AIDS Research, New York City; July 24, 2008, New England Journal of Medicine

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

Last Updated: July 24, 2008

Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Ok l have a major fear of needles the going in and feeling the pinch part does nothing for me.And that really sucks when your poz because every three months for life you have to lab work done.Which means of course they have to take blood out.I have eight to nine tubes taken per visit.

Ok your thinking does not sound so bad?

Well it is for me because l have bad veins that like to go out of town for the weekend as soon as they see that needle coming.So guess where the blood comes from?A small butterfly  needle in the back of my hand.It hurts like hell,l always have a bruise there for a week afterwards.And the blood comes out so slow.

I had to go today for my yearly big blood draw 26 tubes and it took almost fourty mins to get it done.Mean while l must have seen everyone in the building come and go from the lab.Hell people seeing my doctor after me were in and out faster than a drive thru burger....And there sat l.

If we can get a man on the moon why can't we find another way to do this? I want something better than a needle in my vein.

Well at least it's over for another three months.

Maybe by then l won't feel like a pin cushion.

In Fighting Talk (TRILT ID: 0059FD65, first broadcast on BBC1, 15th June 2006), Dr Greg Robinson is faced with a dilemma when local bully Darren Waters has beaten up geeky pupil Kevin Dobson on his way to school. What Darren doesn't realise is that Kevin is HIV positive. When Darren presents at the clinic with a bleeding hand and then Kevin later comes in with cuts to his face, Dr Robinson realises there is a risk that the virus has been transferred from victim to bully. Does he have a duty to disclose the details to Darren and his family?

In truth, the episode is entirely focussed on this story, punctuated with snippets of longer term issues for those who work at the Mill Health Centre. One short section, however, conveys all that needs to be told as a case study for tutorial group discussion. In the section starting at 16:23 Dr Robinson visits Kevin and his mother trying to persuade them to let him tell Darren. Kevin's HIV status is mentioned openly, it had only been hinted at in early clips. The scene runs onto 19:17, but is best stopped at 17:50 when Kevin's mum puts her hand on his shoulder - the rest of the clip is window dressing.

For completeness, the clips in which the story unfolds are: 02:00-02:58 (the fight), 03:40-05:03 (mum patches Kevin up), 07:52-10:00 (bully goes to GP), 10:26-12:40 (Kevin goes to GP), 12:40-13:37 (Dr Robinson discusses what to do with colleague), 14:10-15:55 (Doctor visits Dobson family), 16:23-19:17 (HIV status discussed), 20:11-20:50 (Doctors discuss ethical duty), 20:50-21:10 (Kevin visits clinic to give consent), 21:37-23:38 (Dr Robinson tries to get Kevin's mum to agree), 24:22-26:12 (Kevin persuades his mum).

We have always heard that this disease knows no color, no race, or gender, however it is plaguing minority communities at alarming rates. Why? Is it cultural, issues with access to care, or lack of knowledge? I say, it's all of the above. In looking at the Hispanic community's access to resources, it is sad that the CDC has only 2 out of 17 approved HIV programs that target this community. Needless to say, there is a desperate need for adequate health resources and services in the Hispanic community.

As our country's migrant population steadily increases, it is critical that the public health community take a step back, actually forward and re-evaluate the challenges we face in effectively reaching their health concerns. This epidemic has a death grip on minority communities and it truly is going to take the entire "village" to loosen it.

In the Black community, it's the Black man's pride and in the Hispanic community it is the machismo of the man that continuously place our women's health at risk. But it is often our lack of self-love or cloudy vision of love or infatuation, and sometimes our naiveness that cause us to put our OWN health at risk.  To my Latinas, stay true to your decision to practice safe sex at ALL times. He may tell you he's safe and doesn't sleep around, so you don't need a condom. This may all be true, but you have to ask yourself, "Do I really know where he was 3, 5 or 7 years before me?" Sometimes that's how long it takes before the virus shows up in the body.  He may even say he doesn't like the way condoms feel or using them makes him feel less of a man. Whatever he may say, stand your ground and don't give in, no matter how much he begs. If he truly cares for you and loves you, then he should also care about your health, safety and well-being. But you must love yourself even more. Have an open discussion about HIV/AIDS and suggest going together to get tested. It will save your life!

Cuidate!

The rate of AIDS is flying sky high in the American nation; many of us may think that the disease only spans the African continent, it's their problem, so don't do it with them. But really, its our problem too. AIDS and HIV is a growing epidemic here in America, not only amongst blacks but with other races too. Which brings us to our next question: why does the disease continue to spread? How many people have sex intentionally knowing that they have HIV? And why is all the shame thrown on the women? 2/3 of Americans with the disease are black Americans and most of them are female. But don't you think that if the females have it the males must have it too? It doesn't seem fair that the face of AIDS is only painted as the black female; men and people of all races should raise their eyes and start getting frank and assertive about stopping the spread of this disease because it's an American problem, not just one that exists within the black community. About 1 in 20 people in Washington, D.C. have the disease and the sad thing is, ladies, you just can't trust what comes out of a man's mouth anymore. It's time to get tested people unless you've been with one man and one man only and you know his past relationships did not involve random sex at drunk high school and college parties or sexin' a you-know-what.

Da Redação

Nairobi - Líderes do grupo étnico Luo, do oeste do Quênia, se recusaram a aprovar um plano para promover a circuncisão masculina para tentar diminuir a contaminação pela Aids.
O Conselho dos Anciãos Luo afirmou que não pode sancionar a circuncisão pois é contra a cultura da comunidade, informou a BBC online.

Uma campanha do Ministério da Saúde do país está tentando encorajar mais homens a passarem pelo procedimento oferecendo serviços de circuncisão gratuitos na Província de Nyanza.

Segundo pesquisas, a circuncisão reduz o risco de infecção pelo vírus HIV entre homens. Mas, tradicionalmente a comunidade Luo não pratica a circuncisão, ao contrário de outras comunidades quenianas.

Cerca de 2,5 milhões dos 32 milhões de quenianos vivem atualmente com o vírus HIV.

Uma alta incidência do HIV vem sendo registrada entre os membros da comunidade Luo e especialistas afirmam que práticas culturais são as responsáveis pelas altas taxas da doença.

Entre estas práticas está a de herdar uma esposa. Segundo o costume, uma viúva é novamente casada com o cunhado ou com outra pessoa escolhida pelos anciãos da tribo.

Preservativos

Segundo o repórter da BBC na cidade de Kisumu, no oeste do Quênia, Muliro Telewa, os anciãos não estão convencidos de que a circuncisão diminui o risco de infecção.

Eles temem que alguns homens da comunidade pensem que a circuncisão pode ser uma alternativa ao uso de preservativos, o que os exporia a um risco ainda maior de infecção, de acordo com Telewa.

O Conselho dos Anciãos afirmou que, mesmo sendo contra, não vai proibir que integrantes da comunidade que queiram fazer a circuncisão passem pelo procedimento.

A organização comunitária apenas aconselha a comunidade Luo, mas suas decisões têm muita influência nas crenças e práticas da comunidade.

Os anciãos afirmam que aprovam qualquer medida que reduza a taxa de infecção pelo HIV/Aids, mas é contra uma campanha que encoraje a aceitação da circuncisão pela comunidade.

E acrescentam que a proposta não deve ser incluída na política governamental de combate da doença.

A comunidade Luo é encontrada principalmente nas províncias ocidentais do país e na província de Nyanza. É a terceira maior comunidade do Quênia. As informações são da BBC online.

(África21 - 21.07.2008 )

Alcoholic neuropathy is also thought to be not entirely due to alcohol, rather it is a nutritional neuropathy and occurs due to lack of essential nutrients and vitamins in the marginal diets of alcoholics. It is uncertain whether the neuropathy would develop in an alcoholic who supplements his diet with essential nutrients and vitamins. Alcoholic neuropathy is more commonly seen in patients who have other neuropathic conditions like diabetes. In this subgroup of patients, alcohol acts as an additional neurotoxin and makes the neuropathy worse. The same principle applies to cancer patients been treated with neurotoxic chemotherapy medications or an HIV patient been treated with neurotoxic antiretroviral medications.

Thus the message is simple.

Drink alcohol in moderation applies to all of us.

People who have diabetes should avoid alcohol if possible or if that is not possible consume as little.

Patients been treated with neurotoxic medications should also avoid alcohol.

Supplement your diet with at least one to two tablets of a good multivitamin every day.

Alcoholic neuropathy is treated much the same as any other neuropathy (see my post on diabetic neuropathy http://braindiseases.info)

Nitin Sethi, MD