| From: |
Gabriel ADEYEMO [ profile ] |
| Subject: |
Epidemics: AIDS cases increasing in Muslim countries
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| Sent: |
Aug 14th, 2011 - 14:32:12 |
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Source:* New York Times*
AUTHOR: Donald McNeil Jr.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/health/09global.html
Dear GYCAers, what shall we say to these things?
AIDS is on the rise in many Muslim countries, driven by men having sex with
other men in secret because of homophobia, religious intolerance and fear of
being jailed or executed, according to a new study.
The new report, released last week in the journal *PLoS Medicine*, was led
by researchers from the Qatar branch of Weill Cornell Medical College who
drew from dozens of smaller studies in Arabic, French and English. About 2
to 3 percent of men in the region have sex with other men, consistent with
global averages, the study found. But condom use is low, gay and bisexual
prostitution is common, and many married men hide their bisexuality and risk
infecting their wives.
In some countries, even male prostitutes often marry for appearances' sake.
Truck drivers, prisoners and street children often have high rates of H.I.V.
infection; in Pakistan, infection rates are rising rapidly among transgender
prostitutes known as hijra. The lowest rates of condom use were reported in
populous countries like Egypt and Pakistan, while they were highest in Sudan
(above), Oman and Lebanon.
To fight their nascent epidemics, some countries have adopted compulsory
H.I.V. testing for marriage licenses and work visas. Because of religious
taboos, accurate statistics on some aspects of health are hard to get from
Middle Eastern governments. For example, international health authorities
say that the world's highest rates of birth defects are in Muslim countries
where cousins are encouraged to marry but that governments are reluctant to
admit it.
More stories available on the link above...........GYCA needs more
Prevention Science Advocates in these countries to help with Advocacy in
prevention.
--
Many Thanks
Yours' in Prevention Science
Gabriel, ADEYEMO
Regional Focal Point - West Africa
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AID (GYCA)
+234-80-6798-7317 | gabriel (at) gyca.org
www.gyca.org | www.tigweb.org
GYCA is a youth-led global network of more than 5,500 young leaders and
adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in over 173 countries world-wide.
GYCA's mission is to empower young leaders with the skills, knowledge,
resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions
amongst their peers.
Universal Access is possible; *
*Zero new HIV infections. **Zero discrimination and ***Zero AIDS-related
deaths.***
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