Inter Press Service - April 12, 2006
Moyiga Nduru

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 3.2 million of the five million new infections estimated to have occurred last year were in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 60 percent of all HIV-positive persons (just under 26 million) live in this region, even though it accounts for about 10 percent of the global population.

The 'Year of Accelerating Access to HIV Prevention' was inaugurated simultaneously in Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Ouagadougou and Khartoum; it is being spearheaded by the African Union and U.N. agencies. The hope is that countries in Africa will intensify and improve efforts to prevent HIV infection.

"It is unconscionable that every single day, nearly 2,000 infants are infected with HIV during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding -- most of them in sub-Saharan Africa -- and that every single day some 6,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 24 contract the virus," said the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in a statement distributed at the start of the campaign.

"This year presents an opportunity to change the course of the virus and of history."

Those at the Johannesburg launch included South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, attending in her capacity as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

"We have to identify the drivers of the spread of HIV infection in the region and make concerted efforts to address them," Tshabalala-Msimang told the gathering. "These factors include poverty, underdevelopment and gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to HIV infection and the impact of AIDS."

UNAIDS puts South Africa's adult HIV prevalence rate at 21.5 percent. The country has adopted the 'ABC' strategy to stem the spread of HIV; this approach focuses on Abstinence until marriage, Being faithful to one partner -- and Condom use to prevent transmission of HIV during sex, especially where multiple partners are involved.

"Building on the massive condom distribution programme, which is averaging at more than 300 million per year, our message will focus primarily on the correct and consistent use of these commodities that government makes available free of charge," said Tshabalala-Msimang, noting that 33 million dollars would be spend on South Africa's anti-AIDS campaign during the next two years.

The country has been accused of mounting a slow response to the pandemic. Activists remain concerned that President Thabo Mbeki and the health minister are not showing sufficient leadership in the fight against HIV, and have called for the pace of anti-retroviral provision to be speeded up.

Southern Africa is the part of the continent most affected by HIV. U.N. figures indicate that more than a third of all people infected with the virus at the end of last year were in this region - about 15 million. Governments and support groups in Southern Africa are seeking ways to curb the spread of HIV, sometimes confronting age old customs.

"In Malawi, we have traditional initiations. After the initiation, girls are asked to go out with older men to prove their womanhood. The practice increases the risks of HIV infection," said Maureen Kumwenda, an anti-AIDS youth leader who attended the Johannesburg launch.

"Some (parents) send their daughters to look for money through prostitution," she noted. This also puts young women at risk of contracting HIV.

In addition, unemployment may be contributing to the advance of the virus. "For example, students who have finished their secondary and cannot go to university indulge in bad behaviour," said Kumwenda.

She called for skills training in fields such as information technology to be provided for these youths, to increase their chances of finding a job. Malawi's HIV prevalence rate is 14.2 percent, according to UNAIDS.

Zimbabwe is the only country in Southern Africa where HIV infection rates have dropped.

Last October, UNICEF noted that the prevalence rate among pregnant women fell from 24.6 percent to 21.3 percent between 2002 and 2004. This had the effect of reducing the overall adult infection rate to 20.1 percent.

However, the health situation in the country remains dire. Three babies are infected with HIV every hour, while a child dies from an AIDS- related illness every 20 minutes, says the U.N. children's agency.

Kidjo called for an end to violence against women, and education to give them control over their lives.

"Various researches have shown that educated people can lower the rate of HIV infection," she told the gathering. "But it's not enough to keep girls in schools. They must be kept safe from abusers."

Other activists said the prevention campaign should be combined with good nutrition and anti-retroviral drugs for mothers, to avoid more children being orphaned. Upwards of 12 million children have lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic in Africa, notes UNAIDS.

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