LATIN AMERICA:
AIDS Threat Still
Looming
By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY (IPS)
- The HIV/AIDS epidemic
remains stable in Latin
America and the
Caribbean, mainly
affecting high-risk
groups like gay men and
sex workers, according
to the UNAIDS report for
2008, released Tuesday.
Last year, 140,000 new
infections were reported
in the region, bringing
the total number of
people living with HIV
to 1.7 million, while
63,000 people died of
AIDS-related causes in
2007.
César Núñez, UNAIDS
(Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS)
director for Latin
America, said at the
presentation of the
report that "this is not
a small, controlled
epidemic," and
recommended heavy
emphasis on prevention
measures.
The U.N. agency’s 2008
Report on the Global
AIDS Epidemic identifies
Brazil and Mexico (Latin
America’s most populous
countries) as having the
largest number of cases:
800,000 and 200,000,
respectively.
It also reports that the
Central American and
Caribbean regions have
been hard-hit by the
pandemic. In the
Caribbean, where 20,000
new cases were reported
and 14,000 people died
of AIDS in 2007, there
are 230,000 people
living with HIV.
A majority of the 33
million people testing
positive for HIV
worldwide live in
sub-Saharan Africa,
according to the study
presented simultaneously
in Mexico City, New
York, Geneva,
Johannesburg and Bangkok
just ahead of the 17th
International AIDS
Conference, to take
place Aug. 3-8 in the
Mexican capital.
The "AIDS 2008"
conference is expected
to draw 25,000 delegates
from national and
international bodies,
experts and activists
from 150 nations.
The Latin America
section of the UNAIDS
study says unprotected
sex is common among men
who have sex with other
men in Mexico, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador and
Peru.
It also warns that in
countries like Bolivia
and Peru, the spread of
HIV is linked to the
practice of unprotected
sex and intravenous drug
use without precautions.
In addition, the report
points to a feminisation
of the epidemic. "We
have seen that the
number of infected women
has gone up in recent
years, and we will see
this to an even greater
extent in the future,"
said Núñez.
More than 30 percent of
people living with HIV
in Latin America and the
Caribbean are women. In
Mexico alone, 40,000
women test positive for
the AIDS virus.
"The visibility of the
epidemic must be raised
among women, in order to
promote safe, protected
sexual practices," said
Linda Adechar, head of
the non-governmental
Fundación Vihdha.
Tuberculosis is still
the biggest killer of
people with HIV/AIDS.
"The disease remains the
main cause of mortality
among vulnerable
groups," said Philippe
Lamy, the Pan-American
Health Organisation’s
representative in
Mexico.
Núñez underscored the
significant increase in
prevention efforts and
treatment in Latin
America, where 390,000
people now receive
antiretroviral
medications.
However, 630,000 people
in the region still lack
access to the
life-extending drugs, he
said.
"The number of people
receiving antiretroviral
therapy has increased,"
said the UNAIDS
official, who also
stressed the importance
of prevention.
"Measures like blood
tests and increased use
of condoms have provided
an encouraging
response," said Mauricio
Hernández, deputy
minister of prevention
in Mexico’s health
ministry.
The fight against
HIV/AIDS has faced
hurdles from the start
because of stigma,
discrimination,
homophobia and
ignorance.
A study of seven Latin
American countries,
sponsored by Brazil’s
International Centre for
Technical Cooperation on
HIV/AIDS (ICTC) and the
German Agency for
Technical Cooperation (GTZ),
noted that, despite more
and better government
policies and laws,
discrimination against
people living with HIV
and high-risk groups
remains a major
challenge.
The report, which was
coordinated by the Latin
American Faculty of
Social Sciences (FLACSO)
and will be presented at
next week’s conference
in Mexico, says that one
of the biggest efforts
that countries must make
to fight HIV/AIDS is to
achieve social equality
for vulnerable groups
like gay men and
prostitutes.
The study, to which IPS
had access, notes that
practically all of the
constitutions in the
region mention the right
to non-discrimination,
but without referring to
people living with HIV
or to members of the
gay, lesbian and
transgender communities.
Labour is one of the
most problematic areas,
since that is where laws
that guarantee the right
to non-discrimination
are systematically
flouted, a phenomenon
that is hidden because
of reforms that have
ushered in more flexible
labour relations and the
difficulties in proving
that someone was fired
because of
discrimination, says the
report, which focused on
Argentina, Chile,
Colombia, the Dominican
Republic, El Salvador,
Mexico and Peru.
"In the case of HIV,
discrimination is still
very strong, because of
prejudice and
misinformation about how
it is spread," José
Aguilar, national
coordinator of the
Mexico City-based
Democracy and Sexuality
network, told IPS.
A National Survey on
Discrimination carried
out in 2005 showed that
the two groups who feel
the worst discrimination
in Mexico are the
disabled and
homosexuals.
On average, nine out of
10 women, disabled
persons, indigenous
people, homosexuals,
elderly persons and
members of religious
minorities responded
that they have faced
discrimination. In
addition, one out of
three people belonging
to these groups say they
have suffered
discrimination at work.
Alejandra Gil, president
of the Asociación en Pro
Apoyo a Servidores,
which provides support
for sex workers in the
Mexican capital, told
IPS that the growing
visibility of high-risk
groups can help combat
the stigma and
discrimination.
Colombia, the Dominican
Republic, El Salvador,
Mexico and Peru have
multidisciplinary
agencies to deal with
the HIV/AIDS epidemic,
which is not the case in
Argentina and Chile. But
all of the countries
studied have national
action plans to tackle
the problem.
The researchers found
gaps and contradictions
in laws on the right to
non-discrimination in
the countries studied.
While on one hand,
governments try to
combat the
stigmatisation of people
living with HIV, on the
other they have laws and
institutions that are
themselves
discriminatory against
groups that are
vulnerable to the
disease, says the
document.
"Stigma and
discrimination are still
major factors," said
Núñez.
The FLACSO study found
that while legislation
in the region generally
prohibits labour
discrimination, such
laws are usually not
enforced.
"We need work places
free of stigma and
discrimination," said
Adechar.
A study by the
International HIV/AIDS
Alliance, which will
also be presented at the
Mexico City conference,
concluded that even
though organisations
fighting the epidemic in
10 Latin American
nations have gained
visibility and political
influence, they have
more limited financial
resources for carrying
out their projects. |
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