Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 4/22/2003

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

CONTENT:

1 - BURKINA FASO: Cheaper drugs from India for people with HIV

2 - TANZANIA: Maasai rising to the challenge of HIV/AIDS

1 - BURKINA FASO: Cheaper drugs from India for people with HIV

OUAGADOUOGOU, 22 April (PLUSNEWS) - Burkina Faso is to import cheaper

generic drugs from India for people living with HIV under an agreement

with the Chemical Industrial Pharmaceutical Laboratories (CIPLA) of India,

Minister of Health Alain Yoda said on Tuesday in Ouagadougou.

" Where making treatment accessible to persons affected by the pandemic is

concerned, the issue of the prices of anti-retrovirals is a constant and

undeniable concern, " Yoda said after signing the agreement. " Even though

the prices have gone down in recent years, they remain an obstacle for the

traetment of a great number of persons who really need them. "

With the generic medecine imported from India, the monthly treatment of

HIV/AIDS will cost the equivalent of US $37 to US $70 per month. " This is

the beginning of the implementation of the dynamisation policy of

emergency treatment and medical care for persons living with AIDS in

hospitals, " Yoda said.

A convention signed in 2001 with pharmaceutical giant Glaxosmithkline, had

led to a lowering of the cost of monthly treatments from US $500 to

between $100 and $150. Until then, only 150 people living with HIV had had

access to treatment. That figure has since risen to 675, Yoda said.

" With advances in technology there are possibilities to make the medecine

available to the great number at very low prices, " said Shailesh Pednekan,

export executive of CIPLA. CIPLA is one of the first companies to market

generic medecines and it has been recognised by UNAIDS and WHO.

The health minister said he hoped 2,000 patients would have access to

treatment with the new prices. However, this number would be still low

since statistics show that 50,000 persons - 15 percent of infected people

in Burkina Faso, according to various estimates, - need treatment.

Burkina Faso hopes to reach more people with the help of the Global Fund

to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The government, which is eligible

for assistance, has asked for financial assistance to provide medecine and

biological follow up for 3,600 patients at a cost of $5 a month.

More than 45 percent of the 12 million Burkinabe live in poverty i.e. on

less than US $120 a year.

Some 6.5 percent of the country's people are believed to be HIV positive,

according to latest UNAIDS figures. Until recently, the rate was 7.17

percent.

[ENDS]

2 - TANZANIA: Maasai rising to the challenge of HIV/AIDS

KIBIRASHI VILLAGE, KILINDI DISTRICT, 22 April (PLUSNEWS) - " Maasai

gatherings are usually a time for celebration and festivities. People come

together from far and wide and we feast and have fun. But I think this one

will be different. What we have come to discuss is serious and it is a big

threat to us Maasai, " said ole Moono, from his stool in the shade

of the acacia tree.

As he spoke, Maasai elders from several districts in northern Tanzania

were gathering under the trees. The men, clad in their traditional reds

and purples, found a tree to lean against while the women, decorated in

their ornate rings, bracelets and headdresses, sat separately in a group.

Ole Moono was about to open a two-day meeting, coordinated by his

organisation, Imusot e Purka (Kimaasai for " Consciousness to All " ). The

organisation is raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in the Maasai community

which, although still marginalised, is being opened up to new influences.

New experiences

" Times are changing, and in one respect, as Maasai, we are changing too, "

ole Moono said. " Before, our warriors [the " moran " , or traditional Maasai

fighters] would steal cattle, but now many of them have to go into urban

areas to work and earn money. They often take with them their attitude

towards sex. What made me worried is that when it comes to sex, the Maasai

have no limits. "

Because of the traditional age set system that exists within the

community, ole Moono said that the Maasai culture of sharing was

potentially an explosive catalyst for spreading HIV/AIDS.

" Sharing is a major way of life. We share everything, whether it is food

from the same bowl, milk from the same calabash or even our wives whom we

share and have children with, " he said. " The youth are given a lot of

freedom and they have an open field for practising sex. You are encouraged

to use your youthful energy and then by the time you are an elder, you

settle down. "

The concern is that young warriors will continue to satisfy their sexual

desires - some say needs - in urban areas where HIV prevalence is

considerably higher than rural areas. They will then return and spread the

virus within their traditional communities.

At the meeting, the elders were to discuss how effective the work of

Imusot e Purka had been in the two years since they began visiting Maasai

settlements in Handeni and Kilindi districts and raising awareness of

HIV/AIDS.

Women's participation improving

" We initially came across a real problem with our culture not giving women

the freedom to get involved in this movement, " Sampson, a women's

mobilisation officer who works for Imusot e Purka, told PlusNews. " It has

been slow and there has been some resistance, but after all the meetings

we have held, they are speaking more openly and they are demanding to be

listened to more. "

At the meeting, efforts to mix men and women were initially resisted and

contributions came mostly from the men. Gradually, however, the groups

came together and issues were discussed openly and frankly.

Sampson says that these meetings are indicative of a wider change within

relationships between Maasai men and women.

" Our tradition teaches us that you should just love your husband, he will

love you and you will be guided by the culture, she said, " but as times

change, and we face these new challenges, we are discovering the idea of

one man and one woman and the Maasai women will learn to have more control

over their emotions and their men. "

Lessons learned

Although they have headed to the urban areas in their thousands, it seems

that the warnings have been heeded by at least the more traditional of the

warriors. Until they were educated about HIV/AIDS, they often referred to

it as the mysterious " killer disease " in towns.

" As warriors, we do have girlfriends, sometimes many of them, and, because

it is part of our life, we engage in free sex, " Sinyakwa Njokorde, a

warrior at the meeting, said. " But once we go to the cities, we don't have

sex because we are afraid of the women there as we know some are infected

with HIV/AIDS. "

Kipamba Lesaito, a fellow warrior from the area who had just returned from

Dar es Salaam, where he worked as a night watchman, added that they

abstained until they came back to their traditional homes, as they felt

safer. " At our village, we know most in our age set are good and do not

have sex with women outside the Maasai community. This protects us and our

traditions. "

Not " too bad " , yet

There are not any official figures on HIV prevalence specifically within

the Maasai community. But although health officials do not believe the

problem is " too bad " yet, there are signs that many of the warriors are

not as careful as those who attended the meeting.

" When the Maasai go into towns, they do earn money and they indulge in

drinking and this changes their behaviour, " i Kilobwa, HIV/AIDS

coordinator at Handeni District Hospital, told PlusNews. " They are

contracting sexually transmitted diseases so they are obviously at risk

from HIV/AIDS. "

Kilobwa said that with more education, and more meetings, greater numbers

of Maasai could be made aware of the risks, and the situation would not

necessarily get " out of control " .

Condoms

Abstinence and faithfulness are not concepts immediately accepted in the

Maasai community, so much so that much of ole Moono's time is spent

explaining the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of

HIV/AIDS. However, as in many other communities, condoms are not

universally accepted either.

" The idea that they are helping prevent the spread of AIDS is being

accepted, but for many women in our community, condoms are also a

problem, " he said. " For them, sexual satisfaction is a result of men

ejaculating inside them, so they don't think a condom is right. We are

trying to discuss this issue and come up with a solution. "

The Maasai culture of sharing may still pose a potential threat and

encourage the spread of HIV/AIDS. But ole Moono argues that despite their

deep-rooted traditions, the Maasai have acknowledged the new challenge,

and do seem prepared to adapt.

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the English Service of the UN's IRIN

humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views

of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or

to change your keywords, contact e-mail: Irin@... or Web:

http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post

this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by

commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003

IRIN Contacts:

IRIN-Asia

Tel: +92-51-2211451

Fax: +92-51-2292918

Email: IrinAsia@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments