Number of Women with HIV/AIDS in SENEGAL On the Rise

SENEGAL: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /23/12/02 IPS

DAKAR - In 14 years, the number of women living with HIV/AIDS has quadrupled in SENEGAL.

Women have found themselves at the heart of the pandemic's risk pool, according to a report from Inter Press Service (IPS). The proportion of men having the disease has not even doubled.

SENEGAL had succeeded in lowering the incidence of AIDS from 1.7 to 1.4 percent in 2002.

Recent UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports show that SENEGAL is facing a rapid infection rate among women.

Dr. Ibra Ndoye, Executive Secretary of the National Council Against AIDS, has acknowledged the gravity of the situation.

The economic dependence of women on men increases the burden of the epidemic, according to Marieme Soumare, the coordinator of the Association for Women at Risk of AIDS (AWA), a non-governmental organisation.

Aminata Toure, from the West African regional office of the UN Fund for Women's Development (UNIFEM) told IPS she would like to see a revision of certain provisions of Senegalese family law, which makes men head of household.

Nor should the results of HIV/AIDS tests be kept confidential, she says. She believes this favours the law of silence. /IPS/an

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Canadian Group 'Fails' Prisons on Handling of HIV/AIDS

CANADA: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /23/12/02 IPS

OTTAWA – There may be a serious epidemic of HIV/AIDS in prisons because of unprotected sexual activity, says the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

The majority of prisons fail to meet legal obligations like providing male prisoners with condoms for safe sex, sterile syringe for drug addicts and bleach to clean needles, says a report by Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency.

The Legal Network estimates that known cases of HIV/AIDS increased by more than 35 percent in prisons in four years, according to government figures.

The study by the Legal Network says correctional officials and politicians in CANADA are still in denial about HIV/AIDS and sexual activity among males.

Canadian activists say that it is inevitable that people incarcerated for long periods of time will have sex. They believe it is human nature, according to the IPS report. /IPS/an

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Success Story, Fighting HIV/AIDS

UGANDA: /RIGHTS/HEALTH/ /23/12/02 IPS

MASAKA, Uganda – Six years ago Rosemary Kityo, 31, discovered she was HIV-positive after her husband died.

At first, pride made her refuse to tell anybody about her illness, says a report from Inter Press Service (IPS). But when it became impossible for her to cope alone, she said she turned to TASO, an AIDS support group.

TASO has 67,000 members and contributes to a process of improving the quality of life of persons and communities affected by HIV/AIDS in UGANDA, says IPS.

Around 1.4 million people are currently estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS and over 1.7 million children orphaned by the disease, says a 2002 report by the Ministry of Health.

The UGANDA AIDS Commission (UAC) co-ordinates all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Like TASO more than 700 NGOs, including religious groups, schools and traditional healers, work with the commission, says IPS.

These groups are financed through the UGANDA HIV/AIDS Control Project, with a 450-million-U.S.-dollar loan from the World Bank. /IPS/an

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