Wednesday, February 11, 2009
AIDS in Africa most prevalant in married couples
Although this was last weeks topic, I found this discovery very interesting. The article from Scientific American about the evolution of virulence implied that HIV/AIDS spread so much in certain parts of Africa because of sexual promiscuity. This article, however, contradicts that belief; it is now believed that the highest prevalence of AIDS in Kenya and Uganda is in married couples. For a long time, it has been advertised that marriage was a way to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, so resources were devoted to educating young, single individuals, who were thought to be most at risk for transmitting and acquiring AIDS and little was done to provide married couples with education or contraception. More information can be found in the following article: http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/527926/-/rkspnwz/-/
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Wow. That's one interesting article. What is strange is that it seems to be in the News section rather than the Opinion section!
The one thing I know is that if anyone tells you they know what is going on in Africa with HIV/AIDS, particularly with regard to transmission routes, they are probably wrong because we have very little data and very few surveys of sexual behavior. Workers with western viewpoints have faced a confusing situation since many women involved in commercial sex do not self-identify as sex workers. The boundaries between commercial and non-commercial sex are much more blurred.
The situation also appears to be different in East/Central Africa, West Africa and South Africa.
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