AIDS research....girls what do you know...or can do?

[Daacuud]

According to Reuters Health, approximately 1.0% of Somalia's population of 8 million is currently infected with HIV. This is an estimated 80,000 adults ranking in age 15-49.

 

Somalia has the lowest AID spread rate in all of Africa. that is good new. But the HIV prevalance rate is expected to increase in Somalia to 4.0% 2010. Women in Somalia will be the worst affected. In some areas of Somalia HIV prevalance in the age group 20-24 will approximately hit 10%.

 

1.7 million people have died since the disease was first diagnosed in 1986.

 

Those numbers are scary. Let us discuss, and talk about solutions on what we think can can be done to avoid Somalia from being another SOUTH AFRICA.

 

 

Thanx

Nowaal Dahir

 

 

[Hibo]

ARE YOU SURE THESE NUMBERS ARE CORRECT?

COULD HAVE SWORE THERE WAS NO AIDS IN SOMALIA

[Buubto]

Asalaamu caleykum

Sis Are 100% sure those numbers are correct? Well in my opinion I believe we are way far from AIDS crises, Alxamdulilah we are very healthy and religious ppl which helped us this un-defeatable disease not to strike us. Sis i will recommend you to go back to your research and come up different numbers this is just totally wrong. If there is AIDS in somalia i think 1 or 2 person got it not more that or there isn't any AIDS.

 

Sis berry in mind this Christians hate us therefore they want to spread that disease to us so even if it doesn’t strike us yet they will do anything to make up some sort of fake statics so do not ever believe what they tell you is just unreliable. Well that is my point of view. And I pray to Allah that horrible disease not to strike us (Amin ya Rab).

 

Any way can you let us know where u got form those stistics? or r u health profesional? Did you go to somalia and seen it in your 2 eyes? or someone who is somali witnessed it?

Waslaamu caleykum

Buubto :smile:

[Hibo]

I am not sure where the sista got those numbers from, but one thing I am sure is that people are dying from AIDS in Somalia. Somalidu ma jecla in laga hadlo laakiin waa wax run ah. I know three people with AIDS and no one else knows but me.

[Beerlula]

I agree with you sis AIDS is on the rise in Somalia but what hurts even more is that most of Somalis don't want to acknowledge this problem.

 

I know we are muslims and this really shouldn't be happening if ppl follow Islam but muslims are humans too and they sometimes go against the will of Allah. And with so many Somalis living in all corners of the world and adapting life styles that were literally non existant back home you can imagine the risk Somalia must be in.

 

[Hibo]

Beerlula, welahi runtaad sheegtay. Waa arrin laga naxo inaysan dadku haba yaraate aysan u dhego taagin Cudurkaas. Wey iska dhagatiri waxayna iska dhigi inuusan weligiis ku dhacayn. Somalidu waxay u baahantahay in la karbaasho.

[Hibo]

Nuurto, ninku ma si xun buu kuula dhaqmay. Bal noo sheeg sheekada.

[Beerlula]

caraysane maxaynu ku karbaashna- ma cilmi(aqoon) miise jeedal?

[Hibo]

Karbaash lagu karbaasho ihay wax bartaan ayaa wanaagsan. Taas waaye taan ka hadlaayo.

[Naag-qaawan]

Salaamz Nawaal,

 

Nawaal sis Those ##'s are incorect... Even though there were a research being done in somalia about HIV/AIDS Still they were unable to get the right figure(percentage)... So Ur right about one thing, AIDS/HIV are present in Somalia.. But how many? Is unkown.. Hopefully not much. These days and age anything is possible, as Somalis and Muslims in N. America and Europe, We have seen alots of things that are not right and should not have been commited by us...all I can say is, Alle Ha inoo sahlow dhamaanteen........amiin.

 

P.S The below article could explaine lil bit more on the matter at hand...

U can read more here...

http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/somalia/20010129.phtml

 

 

MOGADISHU, 29 January (IRIN) -­ "HIV" and "AIDS" are words hardly ever heard in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. But the deadly disease is certainly present, according to local and international humanitarian workers.

 

"If you know you have even one case, it means HIV/AIDS has arrived and you have to address it," Eban Taban, a UNICEF AIDS researcher, told IRIN.

 

The biggest problem is to get people in the wrecked city -­ where there have been no government health services or institutions for a decade -­ to believe it. At present, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Somalia is believed to be under one percent, Mehret Gebreyesus, UNICEF programme officer for HIV/AIDS told IRIN. But Somalia is surrounded by high-risk countries, like Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia, and has a huge diaspora outside Africa.

 

"In many places in Somalia, we are not just talking about people who do not know how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, we are talking about people who have never even heard of the disease", one Somali humanitarian worker told IRIN.

 

Lounging against the wall of his house holding his gun, with belts of ammunition wrapped round his neck and waist, a young militiaman shrugs away any talk of AIDS.

 

"We are a Muslim country and we do not have this problem," he asserted. He is from one of the high-risk groups. "You can be sure that many of these young, sexually active youths do not have a clue what HIV/AIDS is," said one Mogadishu resident.

 

The UN estimates there are at least 20,000 militiamen in Mogadishu.

 

­Most are young, aggressive and lack the most basic education in a country fractured by civil war and lack of governance. They have lived an isolated existence since the collapse of the state in 1991. Many have no access to television, radio, newspapers or magazines - let alone health and education services.

 

And it is not just the young and armed who shrug the problem off. It is also a typical reaction from the well-educated, the well-travelled, and the well-provided for in Mogadishu. "That makes everyone dangerous," said one humanitarian worker.

 

A threat overlooked

 

On 11 January 2001, the UN Security Council approved plans for a peace-building mission in Somalia, saying the new interim government faced "massive challenges". High on the agenda for assistance was demobilisation with "special attention to measures to combat HIV/AIDS and other communicable disease," said the Security Council statement.

 

Poor security in the country and disengagement by the international community has meant Somalia has been overlooked in a decade that otherwise saw a push to combat the deadly spread of the disease in Africa.

 

Even where international agencies have established HIV/AIDS projects for Somalia, a significant number of these programmes are managed outside the country, in neighbouring Kenya.

 

In a recent UNICEF study on HIV/AIDS in Somalia, the alarm was sounded over a chronic lack of services and the very low level of awareness of the disease.

 

The study, conducted September-October 2000, said "free condom distribution and their use is not very popular or common in Somalia."

 

An earlier study, conducted December 1999, reported condom use as "extremely low" and the rate of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) in the general population "unacceptably high". The most recent study collected information from 28 non-governmental organisations and international agencies with Somalia programmes.

 

Regions canvassed included Benadir, Beletweyn, Hudur, Baidoa and Bardera in the Central and Southern zone; Bossaso, Garowe and Galkaio in Puntland, northeastern zone; and Boroma and Hargeisa in the self-declared state of Somaliland, northwestern zone.

 

Another more detailed study was carried out in December 1999 in Somaliland, where stability and development is good compared to most other areas, particularly Mogadishu. Authorities in Somaliland and the autonomous region of Puntland had adopted HIV/AIDS prevention and control work plans, and expressed "high political commitment" to combat the disease, said the study. But despite this, very few Somalis know how to prevent HIV/AIDS, found the study.

 

Many thought avoiding public toilets and mosquito bites helped prevent infection. Knowledge about condoms was low. Most believed they were not at risk, yet the rate of STDs was very high.

 

There were known cases of HIV/AIDS in Somaliland, which has an international port at Berbera, and strong overland trade links with neighbouring Ethiopia. "In general, Somalis appear to be tolerant to persons who are already infected" and expressed willingness to care for persons living with HIV, found the study. But it also warned that anecdotal information from local NGOs suggested the opposite: "relatives of patients usually remove the infected persons from hospital to abandon them far away from home". There was a need for community structures to care for and support to people living with HIV, urged the report. It also noted that Somalia has a very high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), closely associated with HIV/AIDS, said the survey.

 

In a country that has been isolated in the international community, HIV/AIDS researchers found that the canvassing and work done for the study had an impact in its own right. Figures given to regional authorities and health workers on the number of people who had died of AIDS in Africa had worked as an eye opener. It had "made Somalis realise that they live in a glass house", said the report.

 

Controlling the spread of AIDS

 

"I have seen at least 20 cases of HIV/AIDS and there is no denying that the disease is here"

In Mogadishu, Dr Muhammad Mahamud Ali 'Fuje', a consultant with the World Health Organisation, runs a private medical clinic. "I have seen at least 20 cases of HIV/AIDS and there is no denying that the disease is here", he told IRIN. He said he had dealt with orphans who had lost both parents to AIDS, but that there were few even in the medical profession who acknowledged the problem. There is a stigma attached to discussing anything related to sexually transmitted diseases. "The potential for an outbreak is real, unless we take appropriate measures" Dr Fuje said.

 

Madina, the main hospital in Mogadishu, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) began screening for HIV/AIDS in June 2000. Head of the laboratory department Mohamed Ali told IRIN that four cases of HIV had been identified. But he said it did not reflect the presence of the disease because it was taken only from those who agreed to be screened, or through compulsory screening done at the hospital for blood transfusions. Most of the private hospitals and clinics (see Somalia: A Health System in Crisis) do blood transfusions without screening or proper procedures. Dr Muhubo Gure of the United Nations clinic in Mogadishu believes it is one of the most dangerous practices in the private clinics. Dr Fuje agrees that if blood transfusion safety is not instituted, it is one of the easiest ways to spread the disease.

 

Another major concern in Somalia is the high rate of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Mehret Gebreyesus, UNICEF programme officer for HIV/AIDS, warns that STDs are "precursors of HIV". She points to a study carried out jointly in Mwanza by the Tanzanian Government, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, which indicated that treating STDs cut down on the transmission of HIV by 40 per cent.

 

Not much is known about HIV/AIDS in Somalia, admits Mehret Gebreyesus - but UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have started putting plans into place this year.

 

UNICEF have identified 11 sentinel sites in hospitals, large clinics, and mother and child health centres (MCHs) throughout Somalia to collect information, which will be compiled in a quarterly report. UNICEF is also planning this year to "strengthen laboratories, counselling, and embark on an awareness campaign", Mehret told IRIN. Health professionals are being trained by UNICEF on a "syndromic" approach to STDs, which treats the symptoms immediately in an attempt to avoid further spread.

 

Campaigning carefully

 

One of the most difficult aspects of raising public awareness is the deep-seated belief in Somalia that HIV/AIDS is a "non-Muslim disease" and a "foreign" affliction. Religiously and culturally there is little public familiarity with, or acceptance of, sexually explicit debate or sexually explicit images. Attempts to raise public awareness about HIV/AIDS are by definition "not appropriate" culturally or religiously, pointed out one humanitarian worker - and will have to be introduced with caution.

 

One humanitarian worker described showing a group of Somali elders sexually explicit campaigning material designed to raise public awareness of how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. She said she had to leave the room so that they could look at the material and decide whether it was possible to use it. It was "impressive" that they accepted to look at it at all, she said. Religious leaders vowed to mobilise their Sheiks and Mosques to address HIV/AIDS during Friday prayers after UNICEF held a series of seminars in Somaliland and Puntland in September and October 1999. The promise came after the presentation of "staggering statistics of HIV infections and death rates as a result of AIDS (in Africa) stunned seminar participants," said the UNICEF survey. The seminars were attended by government officials, religious leaders, elders, women and youth groups as well as local and international NGOs and UN agencies, with the broad objective of raising levels of awareness on STDs and HIV/AIDS.

 

Despite high commitment by the authorities in Somaliland and Puntland to address HIV/AIDS, the surveys conducted found a lack of data for programme planning and development in all sectors of government. UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Cooperation for Development (ICD) agreed to conduct a joint sero-prevalence survey, and monitor local knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices. With an interim government establishing itself in Mogadishu and the south, there are hopes for new opportunities to launch campaigns and conduct surveys in areas that have long been neglected.

 

However, security concerns and the fragmented political map mean there are still formidable obstacles - on top of the religious and cultural ones - to implementing urgently needed public awareness campaigns.

 

Improved security and prospects for peace will put even greater pressure on the race against the disease, however. While the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is at present very low in Somalia it is very high in surrounding countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, warns the UNICEF report. An "increase in the number of returnees in the north from refugee camps in Ethiopia and Djibouti is likely to change the situation (in Somalia) unless there is strong support to carefully designed HIV/AIDS prevention and control programmes." In Somaliland, thousands of refugees have been repatriated over the last few years, or commute regularly from camps in Ethiopia.

 

After the new interim government was established in Mogadishu, the Kenyan government expressed hope that thousands of Somali refugees in Kenya would soon be in a position to return to their homeland. Many of the diaspora are hoping to return one day from even further afield. One of the consequences of the collapse of the Somali state in 1991 was massive population movement. Regardless of social standing, Somalis returning home from neighbouring countries, North America or Europe may bring back more than hope for the future - making HIV/AIDS awareness programmes a vital priority for any authority in the country.

 

 

 

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Anthing good I said, Came from Allah.....Anything Bad I said.. Well, That is PMS Talking .

[Beerlula]

Naag-qawaan-very interesting article sis, it touches right to the heart of the problem. I think the HIV crisis is one that should not be overlooked and taken much more seriously than it appears.

 

A lot of awareness raising campaigns should be undertaken in order to educate ppl of the dangers of this deadly disease. I am sure this would not be an easy task as most ppl. are in the denial stage about the existance of HIV in Somalia and most of UN agencies trying to introduce HIV eradication programs are met with a lot of hostility and are seen by most as introducing un-islamic values in the country.

 

The only solution I think lies alone in the hands on the Somali community themselves in raising awareness of HIV.

 

 

[Hibo]

Please read this article below. It is talks about the good side of our Somali culture and way of life as it relates to AIDS prevention.

-------------------------------------

 

How Somalis are winning the struggle against Aids

 

 

 

SHow Somalis are winning the struggle against Aid somalia is the quintessence of decay and destruction, thanks to a civil war that has dragged on for a decade. But a recent UN report places Somalia as the country least affected by HIV/Aids in Africa. Peter Kimani, who recently toured Somalia, explains why the troubled nation is winning where many countries are losing.

 

The stomach churns and the blood chills; the name of this Horn of African nation evokes a feeling of terror and revulsion in most people, especially those who witnessed its collapse and disintegration ten years ago.

 

Latest reports from the once thriving seaside capital of Mogadishu indicate that wide-eyed militia are patrolling the streets, fingers fiddling with the trigger, as they search for cars ferrying miraa, one of the items adversely affected by the recent Kenya Government-imposed trade embargo.

 

So when the United Nations Department of Information’s Africa Recovery listed Somalia as one of the only countries spared by the HIV/Aids plague, one expected a reciprocal effort in explaining this development.

 

This was not to be. In fact, even the footnotes picked from the publication did not devote anything to this troubled land, which President Siad Barre ruled with an iron fist for 22 years, until insurgents drove him out in 1991.

 

HIV/Aids is virtually non-existent in Somalia, with a United Nations’ Children Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) report placing the HIV infection rates at 0.8 per cent.

 

But interlaced with this is the grim picture of ignorance, with more than 79 per cent of the women between 15 and 49 unaware of how HIV/Aids transmission occurs.

 

A further 80 per cent of the same age group could not correctly identify misconceptions about HIV/Aids, while 88 per cent had no idea how transmission could be prevented.

 

Ignorance, of course, is a terrible “disease,” perhaps it is the worst of afflictions. Yet Kenya, despite 90 per cent of the populace being aware of HIV/Aids and its transmission, continues to register new infections at a time when the figures should be stabilising.

 

This perhaps offers hope that the Somalia experience could serve as an example to the rest of Africa that indeed, HIV/Aids can be checked.

 

This is not to suggest, of course, that Somalia is any safer than the rest of Africa, a fact that is corroborated by the high rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), compounded by an equally high divorce rate in the country.

 

Somalia presents a great conundrum, one that shall take a long time to demystify.

 

There is no doubt that the country, out of bounds to many for a decade now, has limited contact with the outside world.

 

That be as it may, Somalia shall not remain out of reach forever, so mechanisms better be put in place to prevent the spread of HIV early, than await to contain it, as has happened in Kenya and other African countries.

 

While one cannot excuse the political class for the mess that they put Somalia in - Siad Barre, who died in exile in Nigeria in 1995, must take the largest portion of the blame - history might somewhat vindicate him.

 

Before casting the first stone, one must appreciate that Barre, who impoverished his country with his so-called scientific socialism, a blend of Marxist doctrines, Somali traditions and Islamic laws, scored some firsts that vitiate his case as a poor ruler.

 

Somalia’s solidity is founded on her traditional culture, with the social fabric almost intact. There are no street children in the streets of Somalia: Even those orphaned as a result of the war have been taken in by their extended families.

 

The youngsters selling confectioneries in the streets during the day, also have a home to return to in the evening.

 

Again, this cultural identity provides another question: the decade-old fighting has been clan-driven, pitting one clan against the other in fight for control of the scanty resources to be found in this nation of 8 million. Again, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is another tenet of the traditional Somali culture, with 98 per cent of girls between age 4 to 11 undergoing the rite, according to a UNICEF report. This suggests that it could be this practice, among others, that gives Somali girls a sense of pride and identity.

 

This draws instant ire from many human rights and women activists in Somalia, who are determined to wrestle their daughters from the painful, and unhealthy practice.

 

At the moment, scores of women groups are undertaking civic education across Somalia, enlightening the young and the old about the health risks associated with FGM.

 

But its detractors are wont to point to the associated ills sprouting where FGM is eradicated.

 

“Now we hear women are chasing men, just because they have not been circumcised,” retorted a middle-aged woman in Marka, a coastal town south east of Mogadishu.“It’s not an issue that started yesterday,” says Halima Abdi Sheikh, a 53-year-old midwife and nurse, now leading the battle against FGM in Mark.

 

While optimistic that FGM can be curbed, Sheikh says this is not likely to happen soon.“It will take a long time to be eliminated, just as the tradition took to be established.”Religion has also played a big role in keeping HIV/Aids at bay in Somalia, with the predominantly Muslim youth abstaining from sex. Marriage is seen as the only institution where sex is permitted, and the stigma of one who loses her virginity before her wedding day serves to discourage potential fornicators.

 

Interwoven with this is the fear that one is not a virgin if uncircumcised, and so is impure. Even where parents are hesitant to have their daughters face the knife, girls succumb to peer pressure and have their aunts finance their initiation.

 

“We have had to explain that virginity is not created by stitching, it is given to us when we were created by Allah,” says Sheikh.

 

In this regard, Sunnah (incision), is being promoted as a better alternative to the traditional Pharaonic (infubulation), which may cause prolonged delivery and other complications when a mother gives birth. It is considered one of the major causes of maternal mortality.

 

However, HIV/Aids remains at bay. If HIV/Aids can be scared with guns, then one would urge the armed militia to keep on fighting; but since that it not the case, the people should be better armed with information to fight the virus with information, once the guns fall silent.

 

The white patch that marks Somalia in the recently issued UN map symbolises a clean slate that they have been given, to build their life anew.

 

And that provides a lot of hope that all may not be lost for Somalia

 

 

[Isra]

Salam

 

There is aids in somalia, This is the first i heard of this. It deeply shocks me but not surprising seeing the apedemic in the continent.I hope with this new drugs that seem to be cheaper then the earlier ones the sickness can come under control somehow. I heard that HIV patients which are also infected with a hepatitis G a harmless one to our bodys hepls to stop the spread of the virus

Peace

 

Ps. Correct me sis/bros if i provided misleadinig information

 

 

 

[Hibo]

Isra thats interesting. Never heard of Hepititus G can slow AIDS. any literature on that? I am surprised.

 

Xarshin

[Daacuud]

Abaayo, it is true that some studies show the Hepatitus G can slow down HIV growth. But everything is kind of prelimenary. Check out the article please. GOOD DISCUSSION SO FAR GUYS. I AM IMPRESSED.

 

 

Studies suggest hepatitis G virus slows down the AIDS virus

 

From News Services

 

Published Sep 6 2001

A harmless virus discovered in 1995 and carried by tens of millions of people worldwide appears to interfere with HIV, slowing its progression and prolonging survival of AIDS patients.

 

What isn't known is exactly how the virus, called GBV-C or hepatitis G, inhibits HIV. Researchers say if they can figure that out, it could lead to new treatments for AIDS.

 

'If we can identify the path GBV-C is taking to inhibit HIV, then we're well on the way to making this something practical,' said one of the researchers, Dr. Jack Stapleton of the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Iowa.

 

In the meantime, they strenuously warned patients against intentionally infecting themselves.

 

The findings, reported in two studies in today's New England Journal of Medicine, confirm smaller studies that showed that patients with both HIV and GBV-C lived longer than those infected with HIV alone.

 

The GBV-C virus does not appear to cause hepatitis or any other disease, unlike other blood-borne hepatitis viruses that cause liver damage. It is found in about 2 percent of healthy blood donors.

 

'It was a virus looking for a disease,' said Michael Manns, a liver specialist at Hannover Medical School in Germany, where one of the studies was conducted.

 

The Iowa study looked at 362 HIV-infected patients treated between 1988 and 1999. About 40 percent -- 144 patients -- were also infected with GBV-C.

 

About 29 percent -- 41 patients -- of those infected with GBV-C died during four years of follow-up, compared with 56 percent -- 123 patients -- who were not infected with GBV-C.

 

Researchers calculated that HIV-infected people without the GBV-C infection were nearly four times more likely to die than those with both infections during the four-year period.

 

The Hannover study of 197 HIV patients also found significantly longer survival for the 33 HIV patients with GBV-C, even after more potent AIDS drugs became available in 1996. Researchers also tested blood infected with GBV-C and found that more GBV-C infection meant less HIV in the blood.

 

'We don't have any clues how it works at the moment, but I'm quite confident that we will gain this information in the next 12 months,' said Dr. Hans Tillmann, one of the researchers.

 

The German researchers did one of the earliest studies that showed that GBV-C may be beneficial for HIV patients. Tillmann said they had been trying to determine whether GBV-C had the same negative effect as hepatitis B and C on people with HIV, but found the opposite.

 

Dr. Steven Wolinsky of Northwestern University Medical School, co-author of an accompanying editorial, said the findings of the two studies need to be kept in perspective.

 

'While we're looking at larger numbers of patients, we still don't really have a specific mechanism, nor have we ruled out any other potential variables that may be responsible,' Wolinsky said.