Tag: hiv
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Jul 12, 2011
How, and When, Do You Tell a Child She is HIV-positive?
Telling a child she is HIV-positive is difficult in many ways. Last month, I was in Kigali, Rwanda to give the keynote address at the 6 th International Conference for Exchange and Research on HIV/AIDS. I spoke about telling children their HIV-positive status and the difficulties this disclosure presents. In the last decade, pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment and care programs have been widely scaled-up throughout Africa. Many more children have been placed on lifesaving antiretroviral medications, but there has been little focus on the psychosocial issues that children and families face, especially when it comes to disclosure. In the early years of the HIV epidemic in the United States, I cared for HIV-positive children and their families as a nurse practioner. Recent research coming out of several African countries, 1-3 including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa, reflect my own experiences. For example, one of the things that struck me about the research was the finding that few caregivers have told their children about their diagnosis because they fear that children are unable to fully understand their illness, will face stigma... Read More » -
Jul 2, 2010
Reaching the Goal: World Cup 2010 and Health Workers
Until the final match on July 11, much of the world’s attention is on South Africa as it hosts the World Cup, awash in swirling colors, patriotic chants, dramatic last-minute goals and saves, and yes, buzzing, monotonous vuvuzelas. And while hundreds of thousands of soccer fans have converged at the tip of the continent to cheer on their own nations, several health advocacy agencies have leveraged this stage to raise HIV awareness, promote and provide HIV testing , and encourage condom usage among visitors and residents. These efforts are timely and vastly important; nearly one in five adult South Africans lives with HIV, and the virus affects many aspects of life and politics. And as the country hosts revelers from around the globe for a month-long party, the promotion of safer sex messaging and testing is key. A new study lends some insight into just how important it may be. Researchers from South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council and Imperial College London suggest that an increase in condom usage and voluntary HIV testing, especially among young women, contributed greatly to a 35% decline in new HIV cases in South Africa between 2002 and 2008.... Read More »
