Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 10/27/2005

[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 (IRIN) - 1995-2005 ten years serving the

humanitarian community

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - LIBERIA: Youth not putting HIV prevention lessons into practice

1 - LIBERIA: Youth not putting HIV prevention lessons into practice

MONROVIA, 27 October (PLUSNEWS) - First the good news. Young Liberians know

about AIDS, how they might contract the disease and what they can do to protect

themselves. Now the bad news. They are not putting that knowledge into practice.

A study commissioned by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) found while

nine out of 10 respondents knew HIV could spread through sexual intercourse, and

six out of 10 knew a condom would protect them, only one in 10 used it the first

time they had sex.

" Despite high knowledge rates, the sexual practices of too many Liberian youths

include high rates of unprotected sex, " said Kearney, UNICEF's

representative for Liberia.

" This contradiction is profoundly disturbing and requires all of us to redouble

our efforts to effectively communicate with young people about the very real

threat of HIV/AIDS, " she added.

Almost 1,500 children aged between 10 and 25 were surveyed across the West

African nation whose health infrastructure is struggling to rebuild after 14

years of civil war, which sent professionals fleeing and left hospitals peppered

by mortar rounds and bullets, and stripped of any equipment.

Everyone agrees that the fight against HIV/AIDS is important in a country where

the prevalence rate is estimated at 8.2 percent, according to the study.

But Liberia is in such a ruined state that aid agencies and the government are

having to focus on restoring the most basic of health facilities before thinking

about rolling out testing centres and antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.

The UNICEF study takes a look at the prevention side of the conundrum. Conscious

of the fact that more than half of Liberia's population is aged under 18, it

tries to pinpoint attitudes and knowledge about the disease.

" Young persons should be a priority because they are at the centre of the HIV

epidemic in terms of transmission, vulnerability, impact and potential for

change, " the study said.

One of the main conclusions to emerge from the survey - carried out during the

first five months of the year and published this week - is that work must be

done on getting young people to use condoms.

" There is an urgent need to use innovative tactics to promote both the male and

female condom use among young persons, " it said. " To be used widely, a specific

brand of condom must fulfil three " Ps " , namely price, place and promotion. "

Weak spots

While the health experts praised the generally good level of understanding about

HIV/AIDS nationwide, there were weak spots.

In the northernmost county of Lofa, for example, more than a third of those

surveyed said they had not heard of AIDS, whereas everyone in Montserrado

county, which includes the coastal capital Monrovia, said they had heard of it.

" This may be due to the fact that this area was less accessible to NGOs working

on HIV/AIDS prevention during the civil war, " the study said.

Lofa, a heavily-forested county wedged between Guinea and Sierra Leone, was

nearly emptied of its civilian population during the latter years of the war,

when it served as the headquarters for the main rebel group.

" Priority attention must be given to citizens from this area when intervention

programmes are being planned for young persons in the country, " the study said.

More than 80 percent of respondents nationwide said they would be willing to

take an HIV test but that is easier said than done.

Of the 30 voluntary testing centres operational since the end of civil war in

2003, all but one are in the capital Monrovia, according to the government-run

National AIDS Control Programme.

" Use of VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) services needs to be promoted

since many young persons had positive disposition towards it, " the study said.

But it is difficult for doctors to test people, if there are no drugs to offer

them.

" The government, together with its partners, needs to increase access to

affordable ARV drugs, " the report said. " Because ARV drugs are currently not

readily available in the country, the promotion of VCT must be done with some

caution. "

Another problem that came to light in the survey was discrimination against

people living with HIV/AIDS, with some youngsters saying they should be

" isolated, killed, or treated in AIDS camps " .

The report suggested that more training be offered not only to health workers,

but also to traditional leaders, religious leaders and parents. It also

advocated people living with AIDS be involved in education campaigns to

reinforce the fact that HIV is an infection for which there is treatment.

[ENDS]

We have sent this message from a no-reply address to avoid bounced messages into

our general email folder. Please do not hesitate to contact us at

Mail@... with any comments or questions you may have

[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 2005

IRIN Contacts:

PLUSNEWS

Tel: +27 11 895-1900

Fax: +27 11 784-6759

Email: Mail@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments