| Women Go Public about
HIV status and Emerge as Leaders
KENYA: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /06/11/02 Sabanews
NAIROBI –Caroline Sande is the executive director of Campaigners
for an AIDS Free Society group in KENYA.
When she went public, her husband walked out, says a report from
Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.
She decided she had to find work and fend for herself and her two
children. She told IPS that she found the strength to fight back
from the example set by other women living with HIV/AIDS.
Today, as executive director of her community-based organisation,
she travels all over Africa. She lobbies to change laws that discriminate
against people living with HIV/AIDS.
Men in KENYA, says Mike Onyango who heads Movement of Men against
AIDS in KENYA, are having a harder time facing up to HIV/AIDS.
He thinks women cope better because when they find out their HIV
status, they want to continue with life, to take care of the children.
What Kenyan men do is stigmatise women. They call HIV a woman’s
disease. It’s only very recently that men in KENYA have started
to go public about their HIV-positive status.
Says IPS, women in KENYA lead the fight against HIV/AIDS. /Sabanews/an
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New Research Shows HIV/AIDS Affects
Women Differently
UNITED STATES: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /06/11/02 Sabanews
NEW YORK – New research shows gender differences may be one
of the reasons why anti-retroviral drugs are not working as well
for women as it is for men.
Treatment may have to be tailored to meet the specific health issues
of women, researchers point out in a report by Inter Press Service
(IPS) news agency.
A recent study by Dr Timothy Sterling of the John Hopkins School
of Medicine has found that women newly diagnosed with HIV have one-third
less of the virus in their blood than their male counterparts.
However, this did not affect the course of the disease, and women
eventually developed AIDS in equal numbers.
The findings are important because they could provide guidelines
for doctors on when to start the drug therapy.
Another study published this summer by the Emory University Center
for AIDS Research concluded that women suffered significantly more
side effects from anti-retroviral therapy than men.
The research is being done by the Women’s Inter-Agency HIV
Study, a long-term project supported by the National Institute of
Health.
Dr. Carl Dieffenbach of the National Institute for Allergy and
Infectious Diseases thinks it’s possible that women have more
side effects because the dosing is scaled to lean body mass. /Sabanews/an
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Mango, an Ingredient in HIV/AIDS
Treatment
CUBA: /HEALTH/RIGHTS/ /06/11/02 Sabanews
HAVANA – Vimang is a product made in CUBA from the bark of
certain varieties of mango trees.
It is improving the quality of life of people with HIV/AIDS, according
to an Inter Press Service (IPS) report.
The Vimang formula, says a study conducted by a group of Cuban
scientists and doctors, could turn into an effective complement
to anti-retroviral treatment.
The formula is already proven to fight oxidant stress among voluntary
patients.
Oxidant substances reduce the human body’s defence systems.
It is responsible for the physical deterioration that tends to become
chronic in persons with AIDS.
Alicia Lafernal, 43, who has lived with the virus for the last
10 years, is being treated at the Santiago de las Vegas hospital
near Havana. She told IPS that shortly after beginning to take Vimang,
her appetite improved and she has more energy.
Weight increase, feeling of general well being, more energy and
greater appetite are the description repeated among the patients
on Vimang.
Each person took eight Vimang tablets daily for six months as part
of the clinical trial. /Sabanews/an
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