HIV conference

Ugh...

Right now theres a HIV conference taking place in Bangkok, addressing the rising rates of infection in SE Asia. I certainly want to see an end to the HIV epedimic, and I have a particular love of Thailand. (as I'm taking a Thai martial art, seeing a Thai-American girl, and I love Thai food)

The conference is certainly a great idea, and I think with international help the rates of infection can be drasticly curbed. But then, heres comes 'El Presidente with the most half-assed solution the Conservatives have ever come up with... abstainence. Seriously Its a half assed to be telling that to kids in America, but where the hell does President Bush get the balls to look in the face of a Foreign Dignitary, faced with the problem of a Pandemic STD, and say, "Well, maybe you people should be fucking less."

...*sigh*

 

Seriously, 5 views people? I guess i shoulda put three X's on the title. :H

What does anyone think about exporting abstinance programs to foreign countries suffering from the HIV epedimic?

 

Tommy Thompson got booed off the floor at the 2002 convention.

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/07/09/thompson.aids.conference/

So this year, the Bush administration sent only a small fraction of representatives compared with previous years.

 

Interesting, I guess I kinda agree with the protesters that we could be doing more, but its probaly not that simple. Still I think abstainence programs for places with serious epedemics is pretty ridiculous.

 

Why should we have to worry about other countries HIV/AIDS epidemics? We have enough problems in our own country. I don't even have health insurance, so the last thing I care about is the AIDS epidemic half a world away.

This whole HIV/AIDS research rubbish is a bunch of bullshit anyway. It's nothing more than a big cash cow. It's like cancer, where all the money which goes to these foundations goes towards NOT finding a cure.

Could you imagine if there was a surefire cure found for AIDS or cancer (which I am sure there already is)? All these bogus organizations would be out of business.

 

wow pressed rat... I mean wow.

You really think someones come up with a cure for HIV and just said, "Eh, screw the fame, and prestige, and nobel prize." If there was a sure fire way to cure HIV these 'bogus' orginazations would still have to find a way to administer it to a lot of people. no offense but your theroy is kinda a load.

The programs that do work, like vacines to prevent the spread from mother to child, and condoms are very effective.

Why shouldn't you care about the HIV epedemic? Unless your sick, I don't really care too much that you don't have insurance. many of these poor people are living with a terrrible virus, which means an agaonisingly slow death and need help. When the problems can be largly addresed through a couple hundred million pieces of rubber, why shouldm't we help out?

 

Abstience works on 2 levels, cures the whole STD thing and helps control population, which some countries need. But we should be sending condoms by the oil tankers ful to these countires.

 

I have been to Africa and have done research on the AIDS pandemic. Abstinence ONLY is a bad idea because it denies human nature....BUT I see nothing wrong with spreading the truthful message that absitnence is the ONLY 100% effective method against HIV/AIDS, so long as you also have condom education along with it.

In fact, Uganda is the biggest AIDS success story in all of Africa. In 1991 they had a national HIV infection rate of 15%. By 2001, they had brought that number down to 5%. They did it by a government and church-backed "ABC" education program. "A" for Abstinence, "B" for Being faithful to one partner (as polygamy is very common in East Africa) and "C" was for condoms when abstinence and fidelity would not be practiced.

Also, the issue of condom distribution is a tricky one. In Tanzania, where I visited, some international group had tried to distribute condoms for free. There were two problems with this: 1) The donated condoms were the cheap, poor-quality variety from Singapore and 2) because of the extreme poverty there, people would walk into clinics, take 300 condoms and then sell them on the street.

AIDS in Africa is a complicated issue, but it is definately one the world cannot afford to ignore, as we have been doing for far too long. And it is definately not an issue that we can afford to look at with ignorant bias. We must use what works, no matter how we feel about it when applied to our own personal lives. Those in Africa no longer have time for the west's ideological debates.

-Kate

 

That is probably the best plan. there is nothing wrong with teaching abstinence, because it works, and people should be informed of that...but abstinence only is just a rediculous idea, and WONT work. This is what should be taught all over the world, including in America.

 

Alright I should clarify, ABC is what the Bush administration favors, and it looks good on the outside, but there are some major problems with the theory of A and B, and some major flaws in the implementation of C.

Abstainence and Being faithful are alright things to tell people in the third world because they are effective... not totally effective, because coerced sex is more prevalent in the third world then any of us would like to admit. but honestly, what does telling people to abstain and then be faithful cost us? Its never been very effective in our culture and telling that to other cultures which goes aginst much tradition and heritage in many societys and i think A and B, which granted are technically effective, have had no effect on the rates of transmission of HIV. I think A and B were probably just made to make it sound like we were doing more then just C. I think A and B are often posed by many of our policy makers as cheap ways of imposing 'morality' on the third world. We have no business trying to impose moral debates in serious health concerns. Like I said, its a good idea, but kinda haphazard.

As for condoms, which are a great solution, although to be honest many women in the third world aren't impowered enough to demand that there partners wear a condom. The problem arises (at least in Thailand, and other parts of Asia, and probably Africa) in the fact that condoms are mostly being aimed at sex workers. Although this may sound reasonable, it means a large percentage of the population still doesn't have acess to condoms, and I belive aiming them at sex workers is largly a self-interest because of the amount of sex tourism. We don't want our business men coming back with aids do we?

The condom distribution might be a problem, but i think it can be addressed in a way that benifits the whole population and not just sex workers. I also think we should step up funding to these places and give acess to medicines that can prevent the spread from parent to child. its complicated.

 

If you're an american and catch AIDS nowadays it's your own fucking fault. WE have condoms readily available, we have AIDS ads all over the media, and you have no right using a dirty needle anyway.