Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
|
|
United Press International - Thursday, 13 July 2000
Michael Smith, UPI Science News
William Makgoba told the 13th International AIDS conference that research on how to prevent transmission has focused on women, leaving out young men and boys.
"Everybody wants to give female condoms and wants to teach young girls how to have safe sex, but nobody focuses on young men and young boys from the time when they get socialized," Makgoba said later.
Men are "a population that suffers from AIDS and they are a population that spreads AIDS," he said, "something that is often less recognized and advocated in public."
"We don't see any presentations (at AIDS conferences) that are actually focusing on men, how they behave, how they make decisions, how they deal with the fact that they are part of this epidemic," Makgoba said.
"But we see lots of papers here about women."
Makgoba's complaint is the exact opposite of the situation in the United States, said Robert Janssen of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta.
"There have been lots of complaints that research in the U.S. has focused on men," he said. "It's because the epidemic started here in gay men and the majority of the cases remain among men."
The CDC started the so-called HER study -- standing for HIV Epidemiological Research Study -- in the early 1990s, he said, to focus on American women with HIV.
Peter Piot, the director of the United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS), said earlier this year that a key to turning the tide of the AIDS is changing male attitudes toward sex and women.
"The time is ripe to start seeing men not as some kind of problem, but as part of the solution," Piot said.
"All over the world, men tend to have more sex partners than women, including more extramarital partners," he said. That increases the risk they'll contract HIV and pass it on, he said.
The risk is also compounded by the secrecy, stigma and shame surrounding HIV, which may prevent people from admitting they have become infected. Infected men may not seek medical help, even if they know they are HIV-positive.
As well, he said, "too often, it is seen as unmanly to worry about avoiding drug-related risks, or to bother with condoms," something that undermines AIDS prevention efforts.
000713
UP000726
Copyright © 2000 - United Press International. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through United Press International, Permissions Desk, 1510 H St. N.W. Washington DC 2005. Main Phone Switchboard: 202-898-8000 FAX: 202-898-8057 or 202-898-8147 Email: info@upi.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2000. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2000. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .