Should African faith leaders be doing more to raise awareness of sexual health in their communities? That is the question posed by an opinion piece in the latest issue of MAMBO, the health and lifestyle magazine published by HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).

In the article, which appears in the new issue of the magazine published in April, a London-based pastor argues that churches can no longer afford to ignore their responsibility to promote knowledge and awareness of sexual health and HIV among their congregations. Africans are currently the group most likely to be diagnosed with HIV in the UK, and the pastor suggests that the considerable influence held by church leaders affords them an ideal opportunity to promote sexual health awareness.

Joseph Ochieng, Editor of MAMBO, said: “There is ongoing debate about the role of the church in educating people about HIV. This is not a role that every faith leader is comfortable with, but churches do have a responsibility for the wellbeing of their congregation, including their sexual wellbeing. I’m very pleased that the forthcoming issue of MAMBO has raised this subject. Hopefully, it will encourage discussion and debate.”

Other articles in the new issue include an exclusive interview with South African-born jazz maestro Hugh Masekela, an interview with the reigning Miss Zambia UK, and the story of an African gay man who also happens to be an Evangelical Christian.

MAMBO magazine is funded by the Pan-London HIV Prevention Programme, and will be distributed through a range of participating African organisations. For more information on where to pick up a copy, please contact THT Direct on 0845 1221 200.

Notes

1. Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity with centres across England, Scotland and Wales. We’re here to provide information and advice about HIV and sexual health and offer a range of services including sexual health checks, counselling and support groups. We campaign for a world where people with HIV live healthy lives, free from prejudice and discrimination and we promote good sexual health as a right and reality for all. Terrence Higgins Trust relies on donations to deliver a wide range of services. To make a donation, visit http://www.tht.org.uk

2. MAMBO magazine is published as part of the Pan-London mass media programme aimed at promoting awareness of sexual health among Africans. The programme is being delivered by THT in partnership with the following African organisations: Neovenator Community Organisation, The African Eye Trust, Addington Afro Ethnic Group, and Bantu Welfare Trust Future Builders.

Source
Terrence Higgins Trust

Two newspapers recently published an editorial and letter to the editor in response to President Obama’s $63 billion, six-year global health cfm?hint=1&DR_ID=58339″ target=”_new”>initiative. Obama’s plan calls for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to receive $51 billion over six years to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, while the remaining $12 billion would be directed to other global health issues, including pre- and post-natal care and child health initiatives. Obama’s proposal would increase FY 2010 spending on global HIV, TB and malaria to $7.4 billion, $366 million more than this year (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/6). Summaries appear below.

Editorial

• Boston Globe: The proposal “would break new ground in treating children’s infectious diseases, even as it falls short of campaign promises for major increases in overseas funding for HIV/AIDS,” the editorial says. Although HIV/AIDS advocates have “criticized” the proposal, the U.S. “can save more lives for less money in developing countries by broadening its health safety net,” according to the editorial. Obama’s plan is an “overdue acknowledgement that [developing] nations need assistance in addressing a raft of diseases and health threats,” the editorial says, adding that the “differences between the president’s campaign pledges and last week’s proposal will pale in significance if Congress reacts to the mounting budget deficits by throwing a brake on foreign aid.” The editorial concludes that “[a]ll advocates of U.S. global health spending should rally around the Obama plan, to make sure that Americans’ commitment to prevent and treat deadly diseases overseas does not fall victim to the ebb and flow of the world’s economy” (Boston Globe, 5/11).

Letter to the Editor

• Eric Friedman, New York Times: Although Obama’s proposed increases in global health spending that is not related to HIV/AIDS is “welcome,” it “fall[s] far short of the investments required to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals despite the president’s express commitment to them,” Friedman, senior global health policy adviser at Physicians for Human Rights, writes in a letter to the editor of the Times. “As the economic downturn forces the administration to rethink priorities, global health must not — and in a multitrillion-dollar budget need not — lose out,” Friedman writes, adding that if the U.S. “fails to make the necessary investments in global health, there will be needless, avoidable and extensive loss of life.” Friedman concludes, “Fiscal responsibility cannot and should not be restored at the expense of the health of the world’s poorest and most marginalized citizens” (Friedman, New York Times, 5/10).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Albany, Ga., health officials are recommending that all residents between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested for HIV as a part of their routine medical care, the Albany Herald reports. Officials are concerned about HIV in Southwest Georgia, as there are large percentages of low-income and black residents in the area — populations that have been hard hit by the epidemic, according to the Herald. In addition, Chanel Scott-Dixon, HIV/AIDS program manager for Southwest District Health, said, “We have been seeing an increase in young adults testing positive.” In observance of National HIV Testing Day on June 27, public health officials will be offering free HIV testing to residents (Parks, Albany Herald, 6/14).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.