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Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, more commonly known as AIDS is often referred to as a global killer. In Sub-Saharan Africa AIDS has reached pandemic proportions with 14 million dead already, and 23 million more infected. Africa constitutes 10 % of the worlds population, and is now the home to 90 % of all new HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes AIDS) infections, giving it the highest AIDS frequency in the world. I would like to discuss how unsafe African sex practices have contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS and the steps currently being taken to slow the spread of the epidemic. AIDS is a major social problem. There is no vaccination for this disease, only a costly cocktail of drugs whose side-effects alone are life-altering.
Ultimately, these drugs will not prevent premature death, but only postpone it for a decade or so. The problem actually lies much deeper than the epidemiological realities of HIV/AIDS. There are many social standards that not only permit the virus to spread, but actually create optimal conditions for it to multiply at such rapid rates. Large scale social changes need to occur because Africa is on the verge of being ruined by this virus. With much of the most productive age group becoming extremely ill or dying as a result of becoming infected, the economy is beginning to collapse and the family structure is deteriorate.
The fabric of Africa's social structure must be rewoven before deep seeded attitudes and behaviors cause the demise of this society. One major cause of the HIV/AIDS outbreak is the prevalence of prostitution. Due to the economic crisis that is taking place in Africa, many women succumb to this occupation. Changing social structures, such as the separation of the biological family, have caused the period of family given financial support to be much shorter. Parents are dying at an earlier age, and its also likely that husbands die prematurely from AIDS as well. Unfortunately, when these women are left to fend for themselves and their children, they face unemployment and lack of opportunities, so they become prostitutes.
This is a fluid occupation, as women try to get out of it as soon as possible, but when the need for money arises, they often slip back into prostitution. Preliminary statistical analysis shows that 41 % of sex workers are HIV positive. Some become infected while working, others may have contracted the disease from their infected husbands, but either way, prostitutes have a grim future that most certainly includes HIV/AIDS. Sadly, women actually increase their susceptibility to infection through habitual dry sex. The clients of prostitutes are often truck drivers, who transport agriculture across the continent. The truck stops where these men congregate to spend the night are hotspots for prostitution.
While infidelity on the womans part is completely unacceptable in African culture, it is normal for husbands to have extramarital sexual relations. One truck driver said during an interview with ABCs Ted Koppel that it is normal that he have sex on the road because his wife is so far away. Although the man knew that his actions put him at risk to becoming infected, he excused his behavior without much thought. What the man failed to consider is that when he goes home to his wife, he will probably infect her with HIV. Soon they will both become too sick to work, or possibly die, and their children will be left to support themselves. His daughter, badly in need of money, may also turn to prostitution and become infected, sustaining the vicious cycle which put her in this situation.
Other girls fall victim to sex trafficking. Without parents or guardians to protect them, they may trust men who offer protection and income. Before they know what theyve done, these girls are involved in a life of prostitution that they have no way of escaping. Currently the United States is taking measures to combat sexual trafficking. The Department of State, in partnership with the War against Trafficking Alliance, held a conference on Path breaking Strategies in the Global Fight against Sex Trafficking in February, 2003. Participants from all walks of life from over 100 countries were involved.
During the conference, it was suggested that comprehensive, national anti-trafficking laws be passed that to prosecute traffickers and protect victims. In June of 2003, President Bush signed a $ 15 billion global AIDS bill designed to help combat the spread of AIDS in Africa. While the funding is badly needed, it is the grassroots organizations that are educating about the necessity of safe sex and womens rights in Africa who will make the biggest difference. A second factor relating to the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS is the widespread custom of dry sex. One study found that 86 % of interviewed Zambian women practice dry sex.
Africans prefer this method because they consider the smell of vaginal secretions disgusting and the noise that results embarrassing. Dry sex is favored by men because it proves that the female partners vagina is fresh (a wet vagina is a sign of a loose woman who has recently had intercourse), and her dry, swollen vaginal walls increase sensation and make the male partner feel as though his penis is larger. Women achieve desiccation by packing nylon wrapped herbs, newspapers, cotton, or detergent in their vaginas for about 15 minutes. Although this is an uncomfortable process resulting in extremely painful sex, women are willing to forego their sexual satisfaction to meet her partners desires and ensure that he return to her or to guarantee payment from clients for services rendered. Health clinics available to the public and schools that children attend teach about high risk sexual behaviors and how to avoid being at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS and other STIs.
These institutions are largely unattended though, because of the stigmatization involved with health clinics and the expense of attending school. One last factor in the rampant HIV/AIDS outbreak is a low rate of condom use. A request for condom use implies promiscuity, a lack of trust, and kills intimacy, so it is difficult to convince Africans to use them. The first is a general lack of access to condoms, and the second barrier is cultural mindset. Many feel that wearing a condom is a definite sign of AIDS, therefore wearing or requesting one implies a lack of trust and harms intimacy. Some women reported that when they asked their husband to use a condom, he became violent or angry.
One study, which included 4, 066 sexually experienced males and females ages 15 - 24, found that 71 % of participants were inconsistent condom users. Furthermore, inconsistent users were more likely to be HIV positive than consistent users. Doctors and health advisors seek alternatives to the conventional condom for safe sex. Dr. Vincent Became of Ugandan organization Straight Talk, tends to spread the message of abstinence since it seems to be more accepted. He teaches abstinence as the primary objective, but emphasizes that if intercourse occurs, a condom should be used.
Family Health International is also helping to raise awareness and provide supplies to protect South Africans from HIV/AIDS, other STIs and unwanted pregnancy. They were the first organization to provide female condoms, and are still distributing the condoms to various family planning clinics throughout the country. Currently, The Committee on International Relations House of Representatives is very concerned with the relentless spread of HIV/AIDS. At their hearing before the Subcommittee on Africa in 2000, several suggestions were proposed and discussed. Among them were ending the stigma and prejudice associated with AIDS infection, care for pregnant mothers with AIDS, and overall behavioral change. Stanford Ungar, the Director of Voice of America, suggested radio as a method of reaching people and changing thinking about subjects long considered taboo.
Hopefully, this message will be accepted by the African community. In conclusion, I would like to speak on the group most affected by HIV/AIDS. Women are the most susceptible group to infection, as 58 % of new HIV cases occur in their gender. Zimbabwean Vice President Joyce Mujuru asserted this fact as recently as April 11 th, urging African women to impact their communities in matters of HIV/AIDS because when it comes to these matters, women suffer the most. African women are extremely subservient to men, and lack many of the rights and privileges that men are given. This is discouraging because looking at American History, the womans rights movement was an uphill battle that required a sociologically altered consciousness.
Thousands of people had to fight for this reality over many decades. There are many battles to be fought before women are given the right to control their bodies concerning when, with whom and how they choose to have sex. Women receiving equal rights may not stop the spread of AIDS, but its a necessary step in the right direction for the spread of this disease to slow.
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