Voice of America - March 12, 2004
Tom Rivers
London

Click to download/open (Real Audio)

Africans living in Britain are among the communities that are the most severely affected by HIV/AIDS, and they have decided to take the lead in combating the epidemic.

By a considerable margin, the African community in Britain has the highest HIV-infection rate in the country. According to last year's figures, of those who have been infected through heterosexual transmission, 80 percent are of African origin.

Head of the African HIV Policy Network, Max Sesay, said the infection pattern among Africans in Britain has been slowly changing.

"In the very early days, it used to be mostly east African communities that used to show up in the statistics in the UK - Ugandans, Kenyans and Tanzanians," he said. "Now, over the years, the epidemic has reflected infections from central Africa, southern Africa and, now, increasingly, and at a faster rate, western African communities."

Mr. Sesay spoke to VOA at a conference in London on HIV prevention.

He said Africans in Britain have slowly accepted they need to undergo testing, but it has not been easy. He says the social prejudices surrounding AIDS are still strong.

The HIV Policy Network is lobbying on a national level and working with local groups on education and prevention programs.

"Across the country, we have established what we call African forums, and we have 12 African forums across England," he explained. "Now, what these forums do is to pool together within the locality all of the providers providing services to African communities and lobby and support and do advocacy at a local level, work together, and where possible share knowledge, share expertise, support each other and lobby with their local districts and local authorities."

He says the network is so effective in its work, it is attracting interest from other countries, including the United States, France and Germany.

"For us, it is a fantastic experience. It is very unique in terms of the structure, and it is something that we intend to export to wider Europe," he said.

He says, with enough funds, the African HIV Policy Network could be transplanted onto continental Europe as soon as next year.

040312
VA040309

Copyright © 2004 - Voice of America. You are welcome to use any material that is published by voanews.com, or you may link to any of the web pages that Voice of America has published on the internet. There is no need to request further permission. Should you wish to establish a link to any VOA web pages, please send your request to pubaff@ibb.gov. We would appreciate that credit for any use of VOA material be given to voanews.com, Voice of America, or VOA, and we ask that you not abridge or edit any VOA material which you may use.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. 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, 2004. 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. .