Male Sex Workers in THAILAND Face HIV Risks, but Get Less Attention

THAILAND: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /13/11/02 Sabanews

BANGKOK – Bon is 18 years old. He has worked three years in the sex industry in THAILAND.

He says he is close to achieving his dream of building a home for his parents. They live in a village, 80 kms north-east of the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Bon worked as a waiter before becoming a sex-worker, a report from Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency says. But Bon found he was barely able to cover his rent and other expenses.

He says he is scared of contracting HIV/AIDS and uses condoms every time he has sex. He also goes for a medical check up every three months.

But Bon says more than half of his customers prefer not to use condoms. Also, many of his sex worker friends don’t always use condoms.

The economic crisis in THAILAND has forced many more men into the sex industry, says IPS.

However, AIDS awareness campaigns in THAILAND generally tend to bypass male sex workers. /Sabanews/an

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Female Condom Going through Teething Problems in NAMIBIA

NAMIBIA: /HEALTH/RIGHTS/ /13/11/02 Sabanews

CAPRIVI – Femidom, the female condom, was introduced in NAMIBIA two years ago.

It was seen as a weapon to empower women to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.

The condoms are widely available throughout NAMIBIA, says Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.

However, in NAMIBIA’s northeast region of Caprivi, women make traditional jewellery out of the female condom, the IPS report says.

The female condom has two rings that allow for proper insertion. It has been noticed that the Caprivi women use the rings as bangles to decorate their arms.

Agnes Mwilima, who is Senior Health Programme Administrator for Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the Caprivi General Hospital, says this practice is just common among those who are still ignorant about the purpose of Femidom.

Caprivi has the highest HIV infection rate in the country, says IPS. /Sabanews/an

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INDIA Looks Askance at Bill Gates' HIV/AIDS Grant

INDIA: /HEALTH/RIGHTS/ /13/11/02 Sabanews

NEW DELHI –Microsoft’s Bill Gates announced a 100-million US dollar grant to fight HIV/AIDS in INDIA in November.
But INDIA’s authorities are sceptical, says Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.

INDIA’s Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha, a film actor-turned-politician denounced US projections that INDIA would have 25 million people living with AIDS by 2010.

The figures are from a report released recently by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Sinha accused Gates, the world’s richest man, and US Ambassador to INDIA Robert Blackwill of spreading “fear” in INDIA.

Meenakshi Dutt Ghosh, project director for the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), said in a televised interview that she had no idea how the CIA figures were arrived at.

She said going by Sentinel Surveillance Survey, 10.9 million people could be suffering from AIDS by 2010.

In the past, INDIA’s Health Ministry has expressed extreme annoyance at figures released by U.N. agencies that differed from its own, says IPS. /Sabanews/an

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