MUFFLED KILLER PART 1

There are Kenyan men who make a living selling their bodies to other men. Over 60% of their clients are married. They contribute to a fifth of new HIV infections annually. Here's the first part of Muffled Killer. video

HIV FUNDING: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH UNAIDS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHEL SIDIBE

United Nations Under-Secretary General who is also the Executive Director of the joint un programme on HIV/AIDS Michel Sibide says it is time Africa came up with domestic avenues for raising funds for HIV programmes. In an exclusive interview, Sidibe asserted that the war against HIV has to take the joint effort of developed and developing countries that largely bear the burden of aids. video

CRIMINALISING HIV TRANSMISSION?

"A former sex worker from Kitchener, Ontario been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm and sexual assault.Lara Dick, who tested positive in 2006, ..."
"A 33 year-old man from small town Villa Grove, Illinois has pleaded guilty under Illinois' "criminal transmission of HIV" law for having unprotected sex with a woman without disclosing his HIV status. This ..."
"A 37 year-old man from Sterling, Illinois has been charged under the state's "criminal transmission of HIV" laws, even though "the actual transmission of HIV is not a required element of this crime." It is ..."

From Ontario, Canada to Illinois, USA... people are facing serious law suits for 'transmitting HIV.' In Kenya no one has yet sued another for HIV infection. But are the excerpts shown above a sign of things to come? Otiende Amolo is a Nairobi-based lawyer who played a big role in hte drafting of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act (2006) says it would be extremely difficult to prove a case of HIV infection. In a related video, he argues that Science and consent issues would stand in the way of proving 'beyond reasonable doubt' that a suspect deliberately infected a person with the virus. One it may be difficult to prove a suspect was aware of his/her HIV status at the time of consummation. Secondly, the window period (the duration during which available tests cannot detect presence of the HIV) can take a while, meaning a test taken a month ago may not be a true representation of one's current HIV status. Amolo says a case of criminal HIV infection has to be deemed outrageous.

Taking ARVs 'a small part of life'

Alice has lived with HIV for 16 years. She is on ARVs and living a normal and productive life. She takes her ARVs at 8.00 in the morning and evening without fail. In this clip I traveled with her to the market at 7.30a.m. and witnessed her swallow the medicine at the market (video). Her determination to live life in spite of stigma associated with HIV is rubbing off on her neighbors. Way to go for PLWH!

AIDS PIONEERS WIN NOBEL PRIZE

Two scientists have been awarded a shared $0.7M for discovering the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that causes AIDS. The award ends a longstanding dispute over who between Luc Montaggnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi discovered the virus in the early 1980s. They had both previously accused each other of working with contaminated samples. But now the y seem to have let bygones be bygones.

The French scientists are credited for discovering that the virus infects and kills immune cells called lymphocytes from both diseased and healthy people. That knowledge formed the basis for other researchers to understand how HIV damages the human body. It also made possible the design of life-prolonging drugs. Good contribution.

But I guess there is one thing that they need to tell us more about - what was that about contaminated samples?

RITE OF PASSAGE

A man is caught and forcefully circumcised. Reason? His neighbours insist he has to adhere to their tradition before he can continue living with a girl from their community. The 'male circumcision' craze has hit Kenya. A nod from the government, and more importantly from Luo Members of Parliament, just validated this injustice. It is a case of a noble course misintepreted to validate skewed opinions. One thing we journalists must always assert as we report on male circumcision as one of the way of reducing HIV infection is: it is VOLUNTARY.