| As
the HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to worry the
international community, nongovernmental organization
(NGO) representatives
dealing with the issue gathered at UN headquarters
in New York to discuss how to conquer the problem
in different parts of the world.
Individuals
converged at this panel discussion, entitled "HIV/AIDS
Renders Development Unsustainable," held during
the third preparatory meeting of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, to address HIV/AIDS in the
context of the conference's final document. Instead,
however, NGO representatives at the session discussed
the disease in general. The speakers at this forum
sponsored by the Maryknoll Sisters, Fathers and Brothers
of Saint Dominic, were able to inform the audience
of the profundity of the problem that faces the world
and continues to grow.
"Forty million people are infect with HIV
and five million are newly infected every year,
which means 13,000 [are infected] each day," said
Dr. Desmond Johns of UNAIDS, the Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
He
said combating this pandemic was delayed for
two reasons:
HIV/AIDS is considered both
a health issue and a moral issue. According to
Dr. Johns, the problem is neither. "It [HIV/AIDS]
has gone from a social issue to a development
crisis," Dr. Johns said.
He went on to say that the infection ties into
development because people who have contracted
the virus have a reduced ability to provide for
themselves. This may be due to social stigma,
illness or the side effects of medication. At
times, this reduced productivity leads to debt.
Combating
HIV/AIDS "goes beyond condoms," Dr.
Johns said. In order to successfully deal with
the problem, he added, mother-to-child transmission
needs to be prevented, sexually transmitted diseases
should be decreased and voluntary counseling
should be offered.
Dr. Johns emphasized that in order to be successful
in this fight, the elimination of stigmas and
discrimination is key. For this to be possible,
women's empowerment is essential: What women
teach their sons is how their sons will treat
their wives and their daughters, he said. In
addition, the healthcare systems need to be strengthened.
Of course, he noted, to achieve all resources
are needed to achieve all these goals.
Sister
Bibiana Bunuan, a Maryknoll missioner and nurse,
said
the want for greater resources
oftentimes lead to HIV/AIDS infection in the
Philippines, where she used to work. People go
to Japan and other countries in Asia to work
as "entertainment workers," she said.
Subsequently, she said "many migrant workers
come back infected" as "entertainment" in
this sense is the sex industry.
Another problem faced by many Asian countries,
she said, is that healthcare is being privatized.
Some individuals who need it most are unable
to afford the costly health services.
The
rising problem of HIV/AIDS in Latin America
was an issue brought
up by the third panelist,
Daniel Leyva of the the Latino Commission on
AIDS. "I admit it is a big problem in Africa,
but AIDS is growing very rapidly in Latin America
as well," he said. "We have to try
and stop it before it reaches the level it is
at in Africa." He shared Dr. Johns' sentiments
about the elimination of the disease's stigma.
Touching on his personal life, he explained that
asa gay man who is HIV positive and lives in
Latin America, he has experienced discrimination
first hand. He went on to describe governmental
policies that he suggested were hypocritical
-- some countries, such as Canada, have passed
or are trying to pass immigration laws that will
ban HIV positive people from entering that particular
country. "Let's talk about stigma," Leyva
said sarcastically.
The
panelists were asked to comment on the role
of traditional
medicine in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. "No
traditional methods help in AIDS. None. They
just give people false hope," said Dr. Johns.
Leyva
agreed with him but not to the same extent.
He reaffirmed
that there is no known cure for
AIDS. However, he noted that HIV/AIDS is a very
complex phenomenon. Again, pointing to his personal
experience, he said people infected with the
virus also have to deal with issues such as fatigue
from illness and medication and societal rejection.
He advocated that traditional methods, such as
yoga and medication "can ease the impacts
of AIDS" but not cure it. "HIV medication
makes the lives of many of us very miserable," he
concluded.
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