Kenya Satchell
February 21, 2009
2:26 P.M.
This article mainly depicted in the eyes of Professor Alan Whiteside, of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal University. He seems to think this two year increase (2006-2008) of the AIDS/HIV virus in Swaziland is a success because they've rolled out anti-retroviral therapy and more people are surviving. Swaziland has the worst HIV epidemic in the world and part of that is due to circumcision and polygamy. Having many wives is accepted in this country, the king himself has thirteen wives. Even though circumcision is being promoted, it’s still a choice that some men chose not to make. The foreskin of the penis acts as a reservoir for the AIDS virus therefore removing the foreskin could eliminate some of the risk factor for getting or spreading the disease. Whiteside says the reason Swaziland is not in the AIDS spotlight like other countries is because it is small and ruled by a king which the global community does not think is typical.
I feel just because Swaziland may be a lower middle income country does not mean it should be treated as though it does not exist. If we offered as much education to them as we offered our own country and other growing countries, this disease probably wouldn’t have spread so rapidly over the course of just two years. What happens if maybe these people decide to come to America carrying that disease would we feel sorry for them then? Of course we would because there is a huge chance that this disease could be spread to our people in turn that causes a big problem! I think they should have the same opportunities as us contraceptive wise as well as education wise because we are all human regardless of how much money our country has. Everything that happens in the world effects everyone in it at some point, and AIDS is not a disease that should be taken lightly.
Is that why uncircumcised Europe has less STDs and a much lower HIV infection rate than the generally circumised USA?
ReplyDeleteThere are six African countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania) where the circumcised men are more likely to be HIV+ than the intact men. If circumcision really helped against HIV, this just wouldn't be possible.
ReplyDeletePromoting circumcision instead of focussing on ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful, Condoms) will make the African AIDS epidemic worse not better.
An interesting addition to this story is how much Swaziland's King Mswati III has been personally blamed for the HIV pandemic in the kingdom. This is partly because he is promiscuous and has at least 13 wives and also his past refusal to recognise Swaziland had an HIV problem until it was too late.
ReplyDeleteFor more on this and HIV AIDS in Swaziland visit my blogsite
www.swazimedia.blogspot.com