HIV/AIDS Awareness Needed for People With Disabilities in Botswana
Disabled people in Botswana have largely been left out of discussions about HIV/AIDS, Botswana news site Mmegi Online reports (mmegi.bw, 4/17).
At a recent workshop organized by the Botswana National Youth Council, activists said that though HIV/AIDS rates are declining in some parts of the country, people living with disabilities are not being reached with AIDS awareness messages.
One woman, Shirely Keoagile, an advocate for people with disabilities, said Botswana’s response to the AIDS epidemic did not include the disabled.
“We cannot make significant progress on national AIDS statistics unless government and community efforts better respond to the needs of people with disabilities,” she said, calling for a national strategy to address the needs of disabled people in major HIV/AIDS and gender-violence programs.
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Orbit Clanton Executive Deputy Director, New York, 2008-04-22 13:17:11
Orbit Clanton Executive Deputy Director of Perceptions for People with Disabilities. Problems of individuals living with HIV and disabilities is not just unique to Botswana. In the United States, people living with HIV and who are differently abled face these same challenges. I am calling on the federal, state, and local governments to start HIV surveillances and epidemiological data collection. In addition to funding organizations that are attempting to serve this emerging population.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
