All About AIDS
The recent uproar over the revelation of the rule of Covenant University that graduating students who test positive to HIV-test will not be allowed to graduated…highlighted a number of flaws in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the world. In addition to accentuating the issues of stigma and discrimination, one alarming revelation from a number of editorial reports including this one which appeared on the online edition of a Nigerian newspaper…was that a high percentage of people think that HIV/AIDS is spread through sex and anyone who contracts the disease must have had some high level of promiscuity in an earlier life.
I will try as often as I can in the near future to update these pages regularly with as much information as I can on HIV/AIDS as well as the major progress being made in terms of prevention and treatment efforts…hoping that at least one person who is informed by what they read will pay it forward and pass the information on. In the long run, maybe just maybe if people are better informed, we can make a little difference in the way AIDS is perceived in the Nigerian society.
Here’s an example of people contracting the AIDS virus in the process of just trying to eke a living
In Al Zarayeb, Cairo, trash is a treasured source of income. It is hauled into houses, carefully sifted through, recycled and resold. While, sorting though the garbage, fingers get pricked – often by discarded syringes and other sharp objects – exposing people to hepatitis and other infections, including HIV.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is promoting interventions by providing technical advice, training clinic teams all by using mobile testing and counseling clinics. Faysal Abdul Gadir, the UNFPA Representative in Egypt is quoted as saying – We are extremely happy with the results of these mobile VCT* clinics …in a short period of time, we were able to overcome stigma that haunts vulnerable groups by gaining their trust and guaranteeing their privacy. Read more here
* VCT – Voluntary Counseling and Testing
