In a country where more than 38% of the population is infected with HIV, Swaziland, Africa’s last absolute monarch cancelled AIDS Day events. Prime Minister Themba Dlamini had been expected to give a speech about the crisis at an event marked by traditional dancing and drama in the rural Mtfongwani area, about 55km east of the capital, Mbabane. But at the last minute in a royal decree, Swaziland's King Mswati cancelled the AIDS Day events, saying they would interfere with a month-long traditional ceremony.
"The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare informs all stakeholders, United Nations Agencies, partners and the general public that the National Commemoration for HIV/AIDS ... has been postponed," Health Minister Sipho Shongwe said in a statement released late on Wednesday. The government did not give a new date for the AIDS event, but said it was confident Swazis would understand the decision.
As king of one of Africa's poorest nations, Mswati has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle and multiple wives. The 37-year-old king this year selected his 13th wife, and is about to become a father for the 25th time.
Activists in Swaziland who were outraged by the King’s action also expressed alarm at critical shortages of life-prolonging anti-retroviral medicines after the United Nations-backed Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria withdrew funding for the government's treatment program. "Counseling and testing centers have run out of ARVs, thus placing HIV-positive people in a precarious position," said Hannie Dlamini, who is HIV positive.
Derek Von Wissel, head of Swaziland's National Emergency Response Council on HIV/Aids, said funding was cut recently because the country lacked proper drug and patient management systems.
Meanwhile in the Indian state of Orissa, HIV/AIDS patients and their kin face ostracism in the State, said Kendrapda Additional District Medical Chief Dhaneswar Pradhan. “Even if we try to create awareness, the fear of the disease is such that villagers are afraid to touch AIDS patients or their relatives for fear of getting infected,” he is quoted as saying in Newindpress.
Social ostracism of AIDS patients and their kin is common throughout the State, he said. He cited the example of Gita Sethi, a 28-year-old resident of Salampur village in Kendrapada district, who was not allowed to draw water from the village well because her husband died of AIDS. It was the same with Sandhya Mallick, the 25-year-old widow of Bichitra Mallick who died of AIDS in Manikapur village in Kendrapada three months back.
In Yemen, it is no different. Ali (not his real name) is living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He told IRIN that, from the day he was diagnosed, he has been an outcast, a pariah with whom few want to associate. "Society in Yemen looks at the AIDS patient as a criminal," he said.
When he first discovered he was infected, Ali said he went to the police to inform them of his condition and prevent "others from becoming like me." He says, "Instead of helping me, though, the officer just screamed, 'stay away from me!' He ordered his men to handcuff me. They called the Minister of Interior, Minister of Health, chairman of the intelligence agency – it was like a state of emergency.”
"Inadequate knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention, compounded by widespread stigmatization of the disease, are among the major factors responsible for risky behavior and the underreporting of cases in Yemen," the UN World health Organization stated in June 2005.
Medical experts say Yemeni law discriminates against those living with HIV/AIDS. For example, non-Yemenis must undergo HIV tests before obtaining approval to stay in the country. If he or she tests positive, they are immediately deported.
The Yemeni government is also trying to deport refugees who are HIV positive.
And using condoms – or even speaking about them – still stirs up cultural sensitivities in this conservative Muslim nation.
According to Abdul Majeed al-Qubati, AIDS program officer for the United Natins Development Program (UNDP) in the capital, Sana, HIV/AIDS issues must be incorporated into government policy and legislation – and it is being done, he says.
"We plan to send some parliamentarians abroad for training on how to integrate AIDS issues into the law, or at least make the available laws compatible with international legislation on the issue," al-Qubati said.
He went on to note that a group of 15 Imams, or religious leaders, had received HIV/AIDS training in September, and would themselves train 400 other Imams on how to spread awareness of the disease through the country's mosques. Sources: Malaysia Star, CBC, Mail and Guardian (South Africa), Newindpress, IRIN
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