A pastor has angered Christians in South Africa by preaching a sermon entitled “Jesus was HIV-positive” in an attempt to break what he regards as a conspiracy of silence by the South African church.

Xola Skosana said that HIV is stigmatised as evil and a sin in the country that has the world’s biggest caseload.

Skosana, 43, underwent a HIV test in front of his congregation last Sunday at the non-denominational Way of Life church in Khayelitsha , Cape Town. The test was also taken by 100 young people from the impoverished township.

The pastor said he chose the title for his three-part sermon to draw attention to “a very serious issue”.

“In many parts of the Bible, God put himself in the position of the destitute, the sick, the marginalised,” he said. “When we attend to those who are sick, we are attending to him. When we ignore people who are sick, we are ignoring him.”

Skosana cited a passage in the Bible where Jesus says: “I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” But he has had a hostile reaction in some quarters.

“The scathing attacks I’ve received from Christians are unbelievable,” he said. “They’re saying you can’t reconcile Jesus and Aids. They assume it means Jesus was promiscuous and had a louche lifestyle with many sexual partners.”

Skosana lost two sisters to Aids. One died last month at the age of 44. The other died in 2003 in her early 20s.

He condemned the national church for failing to tackle the issue when nearly 1,000 people are dying from Aids-related causes every day. The South African government had been accused of Aids “denialism” but has more recently been praised for its prevention and treatment programmes.

“It baffles me why in the church this is the most untalked-about subject,” Skosana said. “If I went to church and never heard the pastor talk about this, I would assume I must go home and die in silence. The message is that it’s an unpardonable sin and we must just forget about HIV/Aids.

“My responsibility as a pastor is to open a Bible and paint a picture of a God who cares for people and wants the best for them, not who judges them and is ashamed of them.”

He called on other churches to be more open about the subject. “I hope this will change the paradigm, especially in the Pentecostal background. I come from the Pentecostal background and I know this discussion is totally alien there.”

Skosana will not disclose the result of his public HIV test in case it puts pressure on the churchgoers who followed his example. They had heard him explain the virus, possible treatments and the importance of knowing their status and were given professional counselling.

Skosana’s stance was praised by South Africa’s National Aids Council. Mark Heywood, its deputy chairperson, said: “I applaud his actions. It’s very important that church leaders set an example, destigmatising HIV and encouraging testing so people know their status.

“There are many churches that have done a lot to combat HIV. The problem is that the church as a whole has not been vocal enough. It’s often been left to individual church leaders and organisations. We would like to hear a clearer message.”

The South African Council of Churches was unavailable for comment.

Source: Guardian

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The first special event, the Fall Health Fair at the State College of Florida’s Venice campus, will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8, in the Selby Room at the college, 8000 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. Mobile unit staff will provide sexually transmitted disease (STD) and HIV testing, blood pressure and blood sugar screening, and Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements.

The other two September special events are free HIV testing as part of the National Aging and HIV Awareness Day and National Gay Men’s HIV-AIDS Awareness Day public health campaigns.

To encourage testing in adults over 50 years old, free HIV testing will be available from 9:30 a.m.-noon on Friday, Sept. 17, at the Senior Friendship Center, 2350 Scenic Drive, Venice.

Free HIV testing also will be available during the presentation of the play “Return to the Mineshaft” at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, 25 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. That event, scheduled from 6-9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26, is part of the National Gay Men’s HIV-AIDS Awareness Day campaign.

Regular services provided at the 15 sites by the mobile medical unit staff include diabetes education and screening, blood pressure tests, pregnancy testing, HIV and tuberculosis testing, adult immunizations and health education. The staff also assists in finding a medical home that provides ongoing health care services for anyone who lacks medical insurance and does not have a health care provider.

No appointment is needed. Some services are free, including HIV rapid testing with results in 20 minutes. Other services offered at other locations are on a sliding fee scale based on income. Licensed volunteer physicians from the Senior Friendship Centers provide basic medical care when the mobile medical unit is at the Salvation Army in Sarasota. A registered nurse is available at all sites.

Source: mysuncoast.com

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She was 30 years old and had contracted malaria after a holiday in Senegal. The doctors ordered blood tests and asked whether she wanted to have an HIV test at the same time. When the results came back, malaria was suddenly the least of her worries.

“I was completely devastated, paralysed and terrified,” she recalled. “I thought I was going to die a horrible death. I couldn’t tell my friends or family. I went home, locked myself in my room and cried for three days straight.”

To be diagnosed with such a fearful disease was heartbreaking, but there was one small silver lining. Ms Petretti discovered she had been diagnosed just as the first batch of successful anti-retroviral medicines were coming on to the market. She was immediately put on a gruelling course of medication to stop the virus from replicating.

“To begin with I was on 18 pills a day, some with food, some without food. I had very dry skin, nausea, tingling over the body, diarrhoea. It was incredibly demoralising,” she said.

Over the past decade, scientists have drastically improved the medication used to fight HIV, allowing patients to live increasingly normal, healthy lives. With the right treatment, HIV-positive mothers have a 99 per cent chance of giving birth to HIV-negative children. The life expectancy of someone living with the disease has also increased significantly.

Ms Petretti, who is now 44, takes only four pills a day with no side effects. Her viral load – the measure of the amount of HIV in her bloodstream – is undetectable and, she says, she hasn’t had a sick day since being diagnosed. But, although improvements in medicine have changed the quality of life of thousands for the better, many in the HIV community are unhappy about the way society views them.

“HIV isn’t epidemic anymore, not in the UK,” says Ms Petretti. “Do you want to know what the new epidemic is? Stigma. Stigma is everywhere.”

Nowhere are society’s attitudes towards HIV more fraught than during the criminal prosecutions of people who have passed on the disease to their lovers through unprotected sex. Earlier this week, the German pop star Nadja Benaissa appeared in court charged with one count of grievous bodily harm and two counts of attempted bodily harm for allegedly sleeping unprotected with three men between 2000 and 2004, despite knowing she was HIV positive. Only one of the men is now HIV positive – but that hasn’t stopped German prosecutors from charging her for “assaulting” her two other lovers.

For many, such prosecutions are clearly justified. If you are HIV-positive, failing to use protection is wrong, and people who do so should be brought to justice. Infecting someone with HIV, prosecutors argue, is akin to murder.

The prosecution of “deliberate” or “reckless” HIV transmissions, however, is a relatively recent phenomenon and – ironically – has coincided with the disease becoming less deadly.

About 40 countries around the world have either enacted laws or used existing legislation to bring prosecutions against HIV carriers who have infected others. In Britain, at least nine people have been convicted, primarily under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, a law that treats the HIV virus as a potentially deadly weapon. Nobody has yet been prosecuted for “intentional transmission” because it is so difficult to prove. Instead, prosecutors go for the lesser charge of “reckless transmission”, which critics say criminalises behaviour rather than proving intent.

Outside of Britain, HIV carriers have been jailed even when they haven’t passed on their infection. There has been no recorded incident of HIV passing through saliva, but that didn’t stop a court in Texas in 2008 from handing down a 35-year sentence to Willie Campbell, a 42-year-old homeless man who spat in the face of police officers. Edwin Cameron, a South African judge, commented: “It stuns the mind that someone who has actually not harmed anyone … could be locked away for 35 years. The inference that his HIV status played a pivotal role in sending him away for so long is unavoidable. In short: the man was punished not for what he did, but for the virus he carried.”

Some African states, such as Sierra Leone, have even prosecuted mothers who pass on HIV to their babies.

The desire to punish someone who maliciously passes HIV on to another person is understandable. But many activists are uncomfortable about how such prosecutions affect the vast majority of HIV carriers who do everything in their power to protect their lovers.

What is it about HIV, they ask, that terrifies us so much we feel the need to prosecute transmissions? Police don’t arrest people for assault if you deliberately pass on chlamydia or overfeed your child to the point of morbid obesity. Many prosecutions in Britain and abroad, meanwhile, have only been launched once a relationship between an HIV carrier and their partner has broken down.

Angelina Namiba works with Ms Petretti at Positively UK, a charity in north London which offers advice and support to newly diagnosed HIV carriers. She contracted HIV as a woman in her early 20s. “I did what millions of young people in this country do every week,” she said. “I didn’t use protection.”

Summoning up the courage to be open about her status took support and time. But she is concerned about what message prosecutions send out to young and vulnerable people.

“Criminalisation is hampering two decades’ work against stigmatisation and discouraging people who think they might be HIV positive to be tested,” she said. “Of course it is morally wrong for people to try and harm anybody intentionally. But criminal prosecutions are not the best way to prevent transmission and protect public health.”

According to the Health Protection Agency, 27 per cent of people with HIV in Britain are unaware that they are carrying the virus. Yet encouraging people to come forward for testing is vital to stop the spread of the disease.

Ms Petretti believes the law is being used as a blunt instrument. “Of course when someone is infected with HIV a wrong has happened,” she said. “I was infected by somebody, I felt angry and cheated. But harsh laws and jail sentences are not right. They increase stigma and they make it much harder for people living with HIV to be more open, disclose their status, negotiate safer sex and go for tests.”

HIV in Britain

83,000: Estimated number of Britons with HIV in 2008.

27%: The proportion of UK sufferers thought to not know they have the infection.

7,928: The number of new diagnoses of HIV in the UK during 2008 – a slight decline on previous years.

£1.1bn: The estimated amount of money which would have been saved if HIV infections acquired in the UK in 2008 had been prevented.

Chris Smith

The Labour politician, who was Culture Secretary under Tony Blair and the UK’s first openly gay MP, acknowledged that he was HIV positive in a newspaper interview in 2005.

Smith said he had been diagnosed in 1987 and had lived with it ever since, keeping it a secret from his party leader. He said he had decided to go public after the former South African president, Nelson Mandela, announced his son had died of Aids.

“I didn’t feel the need to tell people, except for a very, very few, as it was not in any way affecting my work,” he said at the time.

Source: The Independent

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Source: Swazi Observer

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By Kassim Mohamed

Holding the holy Quran in her right hand, Amina adjusts her veil. She appears like any other ordinary woman on the streets of Nairobi but Amina has had a recent past full of emotional turmoil.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“A gang of 12 men raped me in turns on January 15, 2008. I passed out. That’s a day I’ll never forget in my entire life,” Amina bitterly says adjusting her veil.

Amina was born and brought up in Mogadishu but moved to Kenya along with her husband and five months old son in 2005. When life became too hard to cope in Nairobi, they relocated to Narok, a small town 200 km west of Nairobi.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

With the help of relatives living abroad, the young family started a business: money came in and life appeared rosy. Kenya became a safe heaven and they considered it a home away from home but just until Kenya’s disputed election results were announced. In front of her maid and three-year old son, Amina was gang raped.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“My husband was not around, he left just before the Kenyan election for Mogadishu to see the other two wives and children back there. After the incident I didn’t inform him about what happened. I was too scared; he might consider me as an infidel. He doesn’t know up to now”.

In July 2008, the family left for Mogadishu and settled there for a while. However, the constant violence in the Horn of Africa country saw them back to Nairobi, Kenya.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

She went for an HIV test in October 2009 and tested positive and because of the high levels of stigma attached to HIV/AIDS in her community, this 26 year old has not revealed her status to anybody. According to her, the Kenyan elections turned her world upside down.

Medical authorities at Nairobi Women Hospital say more than 300 women were raped during the post-election violence.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

When Radio Netherlands informed Amina about the presence of the Chief Prosecutor of The International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo in Nairobi, Amina sighed in relief. But she was soon heartbroken to learn that Moreno Ocampo has categorically stated after his first press briefing on Saturday that he will deal only with the “big fish” – those who bear the most responsibility in fanning the violencehome hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“I am here in Kenya illegally because my country is unstable. If the International Court can not heal my wounds and bring those who raped me and other women to book, I have little hope that local courts in Kenya will deliver me justice”.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Mr Moreno Ocampo is viewed by many Kenyans as the only hope to see those responsible for the infamous post-election crisis in the country punished. Moreno Ocampo has assured the public that Kenya’s case will serve as an example. He further asked the government of Kenya to protect witnesses who agree to give evidence.

Meanwhile, Amina says she will rather go back to Mogadishu than stay in Kenya during the 2012 general election.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The common reason they give is that the man cannot leave them for someone else after infecting them with HIV.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Agnes Banda’s story may somehow be different but she says when she was getting divorced, her husband told her not to mention that she was HIV positive – a move she says disadvantaged her.

Banda, 39, and a teacher at one of the schools in Lusaka says she got married in 2002.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“We started co-habiting in 2000 when I was still in Western Province and in 2002, that’s when we got married officially. Before we got married there was a time I came to visit him from Kaoma and I found some capsules in one of the pockets of his clothes. I wasn’t familiar with them so I later asked him what they were for. He told me that he had some genital rashes, an STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) and he was prescribed the medicine,” she says. “He went on to say that before he could take the capsules, he consulted another nurse and she said it was just a mere rash but I still wasn’t convinced, but we got married anyway.”home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

She says in 2004, her husband got very sick and lost a lot of weight.

“He was just like a moving skeleton. He used to have night sweats and at that time, he was doing nothing so I had to run around and look for money. He had insisted on going to the hospital alone. So I went for work and when I came back. he said ‘Aggie banipeza nili HIV positive’ (Aggie, they have found me HIV positive) but I think after seeing the fear in me, he withdrew the statement and said ‘Mwandi bani chita chabe advise kuyenda kupimisa VCT’ (no they have just advised me to go for VCT voluntary counsellig testing). home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kitSo I asked him if he had done VCT. He said ‘no’, then I asked why, the response I got was that because of his illness his immunity was low and could have mistook that for HIV. So he said that he would go when he got better. He was put on medication and he got better,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Banda says when her husband recovered, she reminded him to go for a test but he refused, saying that the virus could not survive in his blood.

“That was a wake-up call for me but I was scared I couldn’t go alone because I was thinking how I could receive the news if I was found positive. I feared to say if I go there and I am found positive, he could have accused me of infidelity. So life continued and I lived in fear,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

She says in October, 2006, fate caught up with her and she started feeling sick.
“It was during the elections and I was feeling like I had malaria. My legs were painful, very painful. I used to sit on the table verifying results and after I got money from the elections, I used it all on medication,” she says.

Banda says while she was sick, her husband left her and went to Malawi to do business.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

She says while he was in Malawi, her illness progressed and her health deteriorated.

“Even after using all the money, I started going to other clinics even government clinics but all in vain. Then one day I just thought of going to UTH, without a referral. The doctor saw me and saw the seriousness of my illness. He asked for a close relative since I had just gone there with a friend. At the hospital, they said there was need for either for a mother or husband to come,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Banda says since her husband was out of the country, she called her mother who found her critically ill.

She says her mother told her to tell the husband to come back from Malawi.

“He came back with some money which he spent on me and I appreciate that but after trying this and that nothing worked or improved until one day a certain doctor at UTH decided for me and the family. I was in no decision making position. I couldn’t walk. I was being lifted around and I believe that God spoke through that doctor,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Banda says the doctor decided that she does an HIV test because all the tests were done and nothing came out.

She says the test was done and it came out positive.

“I thank God that the test was done because if it was not for that, I would have been gone and forgotten. When the test was done, the CD4 count was initially low, it was 135. So I was immediately put on ARVs and within the shortest period of time, I started recovering,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Banda says when she started getting better, her husband started complaining about the money he had used on her.

“I thought he was giving me money out of love and he talked about it until it became a thorn in the bush. He complained that couldn’t I have gotten sick for a short time and gotten better. I couldn’t bear this any more so, I had to find a way to get back the money he spent on me which he accepted,” she says.

Banda says she got a loan and gave him K3 million and upon giving him the money, he told her that she should not expect him to buy anything at home or pay the rent until he declares profits.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Banda says things were not easy for her as she had to cope with her HIV status as well.

“I discovered immune boosters in his pockets… then the bank was deducting money from me and I was given full responsibility of the home. This went on for months and even before I could finish the loan…I had a lot of debts because of the loan, he said that we divorce,” she says.

She says her husband told her that he could not continue with her and if he had to build a house, her relatives would grab the house thinking they had used her money.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“So that’s how we got divorced on 10th May 2008. On September 3, I took him to court and we got divorced officially but unfortunately, I wasn’t open about my status. I wasn’t open because I wasn’t counselled. We did not have any children together,” she says.

Banda says her husband was not supposed to divorce her because she tested positive in his home.

She suspected that her husband might have known because he was taking boosters.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“Maybe if I had mentioned that I was positive at the time in court, the court could have told him to be maintaining me. He told me not to mention in the courts that I was positive. He brought me from Kaoma to Lusaka where life is expensive. I need help. I need a house and I am finding it difficult to work. My husband refused to go for a test because he used to say that it’s voluntary so he could not be forced,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Banda says she told her relatives about her status but he never mentioned anything to his.

She says at that time, she felt rejected and a misfit and that no one counted her as a person.

Banda says she used to feel as if people knew about her status.

“I received counselling from call centres and I accepted my status and I now talk about it openly. My CD4 count is now 820 as of January this year and I thank God for that. But I think he knew about his status and even when I was sick, he refused to go and get tested saying it was voluntary and that he would do it at his own time,” she says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

She says she has now come to terms with her status and has accepted it.

Banda says she even has a club at the school where she teaches but finds it difficult to talk to the teachers.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

According to Johns Hopkins researcher Charlotte Gaydos, DrPH, participants had no trouble distinguishing between positive and negative results.

Nearly all participants said they would “definitely or probably recommend” self-testing to a friend and would “probably or definitely” perform a test at home if it were available, Dr. Gaydos remarked in an article on WebMD. With further study, she went on to say, home testing for HIV might one day be as routine as pregnancy testing.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“Rapid HIV testing works by detecting antibodies against HIV, just like the kits used by health care workers for routine HIV testing,” says Larry Siebert, CEO of Chembio Diagnostics. Siebert went on to note that rapid, point-of-care (POC) tests such as those his company develops are single test cartridges, similar to pregnancy tests, that use a small sample of oral fluid or whole blood and deliver a visual result in approximately 20 minutes–and one may serve as a viable at-home HIV test.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“The hope for this test is that it can help identify those HIV-positive individuals who are unaware of their status and motivate them to seek immediate medical attention and early treatment,” says Siebert.

A No, I do not. First, prostate issues cause problems with the urinary system, not the bowels. Second, prostate cancer does not occur at age 19. According to the Jamaica Cancer Society, nearly all cases occur among the over-45s.

So why are you bleeding?

Well, statistically speaking, the likeliest reason for a young guy to bleed from the bottom is piles.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Piles (also known as haemorrhoids) are varicose veins in the rectum. This means that the veins are ‘bulging’ and are liable to bleed when under pressure.

Piles are extremely common. Experts think they are at least partly caused by a poor diet.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

If you do have piles, don’t be scared. Most people who get this condition do not have to undergo surgery. Very often, the disorder can be controlled by medication and diet.

I must stress that there could be other reasons why you have been bleeding. See a doc now. Good luck.

Q I am a 20-year-old woman. About two weeks ago, I had sex with my boyfriend. The condom fell off. He decided that he wanted to go ahead without the condom, but I disagreed. So he stayed inside for only about a minute or less. My period came a couple of days after that. Now I have an awful smelly discharge. What do you think I should do? Is it serious?home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

A On the night the condom fell off, you were absolutely right to insist that your boyfriend stop. However, it is a pity that he continued for around a minute.

Nevertheless, it does seem you are not pregnant, because you say that your menses arrived.

Now you have an offensive discharge. The first thing that occurs to me is this: When the condom came off, did it by any chance remain inside you? A ‘retained’ condom is a well-known cause of a smelly discharge.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

However, let us assume that you had both found the condom. In that case, the likeliest reason for that offensive discharge is a vaginal infection.

You may well have caught the infection during that brief minute of unprotected sex.

It is absolutely essential that you consult a doctor. She can examine you internally, take test samples from the region of your cervix, and reach a diagnosis.

Until you have seen the doc and been diagnosed, do not have sex.

Q I am a man in my early 20s. Around nine months ago, I was in a relationship with another man. I am not gay, but did it for financial reasons, which I know was wrong. What I am worried about is that I have recently failed a blood examination. So I am now wondering if I have contracted HIV. Do you think it was HIV which caused me to fail? But if I had HIV, would I have been seeing signs of it by now?home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

A Sorry to hear about your problems. But what I do not understand is this. What do you mean when you say that you ‘failed’ a blood test?

What blood test was it? And why did you have it done? If it was for HIV, I would have thought that whoever did the test would have told you so.

It seems clear that you should now go back to whoever conducted that blood examination and ask them to explain what sort of test it was. It may just have been a blood count for anaemia. Or possibly it was a ’sickling’ test.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

In the part of your email which I have not published, you told me precisely what you did with this other guy. I regret to say that this particular activity could have been enough to give you HIV if the other man was infected.

You should take an HIV test. The fact that you have not had any symptoms does not mean you are OK. Get this matter sorted out right away.

Q I’m a 19-year-old female who has had two miscarriages, both at five months. I have a problem with my weight, which is 190 pounds. I want to lose about 30 pounds, but I’m really depressed about everything, including the two miscarriages, and being unemployed. I really need advice on how to start losing weight without getting depressed.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

A You have obviously had a bad time lately. Many people do not realise how stressful a miscarriage can be for a woman. To have two in succession is extremely distressing. You don’t say whether you are in a sexual relationship at the moment. But if you are, I would suggest that you use a good contraceptive method for a year or so, so that you are not exposed to the strain of a further pregnancy, plus the worry of wondering whether you might miscarry again. It is clear that you are quite depressed, so I urge you to see a doctor as soon as possible. home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kitIt is likely that she will put you on an antidepressant to help you get through this difficult time. On the point of losing weight, do not attempt to lose it quickly! Very strict dieting would probably make you even more depressed. Instead, a reasonable target would be to lose the 30 pounds over, say, the next two and a half years! That is a target of only one pound per month, which is achievable without making yourself miserable. A sensible free diet sheet is available at www.health24.com/dietnfood/weight.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Q Can one die from a heart attack during sex, as I have heard?

A Such things do occasionally happen in elderly people, particularly if they already have heart trouble. But if you are a young person, you really need not fret about this.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

As per the law, VCT clinics or individuals will not be obliged to disclose the identities of those tested.

Though no official from the Ministry of Health was available to comment on the details of the report obtained by Khaleej Times, a press note said the country had adopted a system to deal with the disease.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“The UAE has adopted a draft system for dealing with reported cases and the actions taken to achieve prevention and co-existence of society members from getting affected,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Executive Director for Health Policies at the ministry.

“The UAE submits its periodic report every two years to the United Nations in New York on a regular basis,” he said. In 2008, the UAE was criticised for failing to submit data to the UNAIDS Report on the global Aids epidemic.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The report points out that the UAE has one of the lowest reported HIV rates globally. “This could be attributed to deep-rooted religious, cultural, and social beliefs that help (prevent the) spread (of) the disease (e.g. homosexuality and prostitution); it is also partially attributed to the strong screening programmes that the UAE expatriates are mandated to go through prior to the issuance of their residency in the country,” it reads.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

It adds that the exponential increase in the expatriate population had alerted authorities to increase spending on surveillance, prevention and treatment. As much as $17.6 million in public funding is spent on the disease, of which 82 per cent is dedicated to involuntary testing, it says.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

As per the report, 49 UAE nationals were found HIV positive in 2009. Of these cases, 39 per cent and 35 per cent were discovered in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, respectively. It was, however, agreed in the report that the reported cases may be underestimated since an undetermined number of nationals prefer to test HIV status and seek care, treatment and support service
outside the country for fear of stigma and discrimination.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

In contrast, the number of HIV positive cases among expatriates has been increasing with the increase in the number of foreign workers employed in the country, it said, adding that national reports do not reflect numbers since expatriates are repatriated if they test positive.

“The logic for repatriation of expats diagnosed with the disease relates to the fear that they may develop resistance should treatment be initiated in the UAE and discontinued upon return to home country,” reads the report.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The report also agrees that the weakest element in the UAE’s response to the disease was its monitoring and evaluation system. It also points out the need to conduct behavioural studies, monitor modes of transmission and disseminate education on the disease among school children and youth.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The campaign launched to stop such practice must therefore be extremely commended. Unfortunately, there seems to be a paucity of alignment between the message aired out as portrayed in the radio adverts and the continuous reassurance given to persons found to be HIV positive during post-test counselling. home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kitFor instance, one of the campaign message aired out against sexual network is to the effect that; once one gets HIV, neither the patient nor the children can ever live a good life. It also expounds that; once either of the married couples (discordant couples put into consideration) or both become infected with HIV, then the children’s future is thwarted completely. First of all, isn’t this message undermining the counselling techniques used on people found to have acquired the virus?home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The post-test counselling of a patient found to have the HIV virus is geared towards reassuring the victim that regardless of his/her HIV positive results, he/she can still live a good quality life, with good monitoring.

Secondly, have the proponents against sexual networks put into consideration the children who acquire the virus at birth? Are they aware that some of the children born with the virus in the 1990s are now adolescents, and some are young adults who require constant moral and psychological support? Describing HIV infection as an automatic avenue to hopelessness as portrayed in the aired messages in the media, may tantamount to stigmatisation of the HIV patients. In fact, such kind of message may be discriminatory in character, infringing on the patient’s constitutional right, not to be discriminated against as provided for by (Article 21 of the 1995 Constitution).home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The campaign should come up with an appropriate message that strikes a balance between protecting the public health while preserving the human rights and dignity of people living with HIV. They should focus more on revitalising the marriage institution by encouraging couples to observe two major elements; one: Being available for one another and two: showing mutual respect for one another as husband and wife, since a big percentage of sexual networks do arise through search for new companionship.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

With due respect to those behind the campaign against sexual networks, the message, as it is being aired out currently, to a great extent, stigmatises HIV patients and increases social rejection, self condemnation and self pity.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Abdel Maldonado, 35, of the 100 block of Home Avenue, is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child for the alleged abuse that started in 2005 when the boy was 12, prosecutors said.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The abuse allegedly continued until 2006.

A positive HIV test led the then-16-year-old boy and his mother to report the abuse to police.

The teen reported three assaults starting when he was 12, but the defendant said he had consensual relations with the victim 55 times beginning when he was 9, prosecutors said.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Maldonaldo is being held in the Mercer County workhouse on $300,000 bail, said Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman with the county prosecutor’s office.

David was at the forefront of the barrage. Wide-eyed, young and naïve, I was mesmerized by his swagger and flamboyance. I vividly recall the butterflies in my stomach each time he, while tightly clasping my hand, marched me into queer night at La Luna or Saturday night at the City Nightclub.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

Although roughly the same age, David was years ahead of me in terms of liberation and sophistication. One night, nestled on his old yellow couch, he insisted I sit through the history of gay cinema. After Tootsie and during The Rocky Horror Picture Show, he decided to talk numbers with me. His? 62.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

At that point in my gay evolution, he may as well have told me he his number was infinite. Although I had certainly racked up a modest handful of bedpost notches, mentally I may as well have lived in a nunnery. I was stunned and horrified. I panicked, convinced we were riddled with STDs. I stopped returning David’s calls the next day.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

The trepidation I felt then isn’t totally unlike the angst I feel now when I make mistakes of the sexual variety. Fear often drives us to—and through—our inevitable firsts. Soon after David’s declaration, I scheduled an appointment with my family doctor, thus beginning another major gay rite of passage.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

It felt like I sat in my doctor’s waiting room for hours; its pale pastel walls and stale décor only intensified my discomfort. Loud children squirmed in parents’ laps; their sneezing and coughing worsened my paranoia. When I finally saw my doctor face to face and explained why I needed a test, he scolded me—berating me at length and encouraging me not to. The last thing I wanted, he argued, was insurance companies deeming me “high risk,” because they’d surely penalize me for it.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“Go home, I’m sure you’re fine,” he assured me.

After much pleading, he caved. I had blood drawn, went home, and my dreaded two-week wait began. It seemed like eight months before the nurse called to give me my result.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

What a difference time makes.

A couple of weeks ago, a familiar uneasiness consumed me as a comrade and I sauntered down Stark Street to the Men’s Wellness Clinic to get our now frequent, regular tests. We approached the clinic in a deluge of pounding rain, nervously evaluating our risk levels, discussing interesting strategic choices we’d recently made. To lighten the mood, my friend introduced us to the staff as lovers.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“We’re desperately in love,” he said. “And we’re ready to take it to the next level.”

The dewy receptionist, incredibly friendly, played along.

“Really,” he insisted. “Look, we even dressed alike.” We had, albeit inadvertently.

After we procured our letters—you’re assigned letters (for rapid HIV tests) or numbers (full STD screenings), based on your testing preference—we examined the scene and took our seats on large leather couches in the back corner. Aside from a handful of new magazines, Garden State helped pass the time. Shockingly, my friend hadn’t ever seen it (“I only like blockbuster romantic comedies and porn!”), so the movie provided a nice distraction.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

I looked around the room, noticing how it contrasted with my earliest experiences. No screaming children. No ghastly pastels or floral prints. Instead, CAP offered serene, queer-friendly ambiance.

As I was called back, my anxiety arose and, once inside the room with the testing liaison, abruptly subsided. I used the poor soul as a de facto counselor, spilling all, sharing every sordid sexual detail, hoping he was happy to listen. Yeah, I totally let him put it inside me, but I made him pull out. Doesn’t that count for something?home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit

“Well, we call it strategic positioning,” he told me.

Perfect. I was all about strategic positioning. And strategic maneuvering.

I jest, of course—the safer the better, people. I told my de facto counselor about how my family doctor argued against testing. He seethed. We were about the same age, so we talked about the olden days when an excruciating two-week wait was customary. He told me how a slightly impatient younger generation balks at a twenty-minute wait. I imagined my younger self thrilled by it. As I received the good news, I marveled at how much things change—and don’t.home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit