EDIT: South African army facing HIV crisis

[2RHPZ]

Africa's Armed Forces Decimated by HIV

Daily Mail & Guardian
6-23-4

HIV/Aids is devastating Africa's armed forces in a wave of HIV infections driven largely by foreign peacekeeping missions, according to new research.

The disease has overtaken combat and malaria as the leading cause of death among soldiers and sailors.

Western diplomats and military officials have expressed alarm that sub-Saharan countries will be left without the means to tackle insurgencies, disorder and terrorism.

A study into the Nigerian armed forces this week confirmed suspicion that military personnel are far likelier than civilians to be infected with HIV. "Aids is now the leading cause of death in military and police forces in some African countries, accounting for more than half of in-service mortality," it reported.

Most of the Nigerians surveyed knew that HIV could be transmitted through *** but that knowledge was undermined by the false belief that there was a cure for Aids.

Published by BioMed Central, an independent peer-reviewed public health journal, the research put Nigeria's armed forces in the same league as those of Angola, Cameroon, South Africa and Uganda, which separate studies have shown to have high rates of infection.

"Personnel in the military are at increased risk of HIV infection. Naval personnel who have been transferred abroad reported significantly more risky ****** behaviour than others."


Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=117640

[BadKarma26]

That sucks.

[Gatling]

Sadely , it doesn't surprise me at all. The Aids virus is having a pretty , quiet, devastating effect in Africa. The "funny'" thing about it, is that Sudan have rejected some African troops to be sent to Darfur, claiming some of them were HIV positive, and that they would spread the disease in their country.The African Union responded that all of the troops{on stand by} were already tested........To be continued.

[Hiroshima]

HIV is the virus btw, while AIDS is a syndrom caused by the virus....and yep, sad to see this happening too....can you imagin if it hit china or some of the countries that don't have information like the 1st world countries, plus contraceptives and such?

[hahaha]

Boo hoo - wear condoms.

[Hiroshima]

Yeah....very true....for safety's sake, wrap it up

[companther53]

You dont only get HIV from not wearing a condom. Im from South africa and I know before you sit or take a piss you have look out for blood or needles with blood in it because if they are affected then every one else must be

[Kriz]

I've also heard that aids is starting to take it's toll in China and other asians countries too. Can anyone confirm this ?

[Tane Angle]

It is becoming a major problem in China and even India. And while condoms lower the risk, they don't eliminate it (that said, I'd still say wear a condom). Also, many Africans believe - because they have been told this by groups like the Catholic Church - that condoms spread HIV. Want to know where all that money for fighting AIDS in Africa goes? Not really for drugs; it goes for education, to educate people that the rumors are false and that condoms do help.

Have a good one, and just some thoughts...

[Kriz]

It is becoming a major problem in China and even India. And while condoms lower the risk, they don't eliminate it (that said, I'd still say wear a condom). Also, many Africans believe - because they have been told this by groups like the Catholic Church - that condoms spread HIV. Want to know where all that money for fighting AIDS in Africa goes? Not really for drugs; it goes for education, to educate people that the rumors are false and that condoms do help.

Have a good one, and just some thoughts...

Well in Ehtiopia some people belief that God protects them from HIV/AIDS, how stupid can you be. Just one of the many things religion is to blame for.
Ah well just another way of nature to keep human population at bay I guess...

[usa320]

It pisses me off so much that simply wrapping up your package could save so many lives, yet people arent informed enough, or not willing to, do it.


I personally dont use condoms, but ive been with the same girl for a year now, and she takes the pill, so i feel comfortable not using them.

[GrimmyRX]

Boo hoo - wear condoms.

Yes, because, like in the west, ALL people in Africa have access to condoms and money to buy condoms eh?

[2RHPZ]

South African army facing HIV crisis

From Xan Rice in Johannesburg

HIV has infected one in four soldiers in South Africa’s Armed Forces, severely restricting the country’s capacity to deploy troops in the region.

General Pieter Oelofse, the head of medicine at the South African Defence Force (SANDF), told parliament that 23 per cent of soldiers were estimated to have contracted the virus. “Our deployable force is shrinking due to medical reasons,” he said.

The statistics were produced by mandatory Aids testing of troops sent on UN peacekeeping missions, which are off limits to infected soldiers. About 3,000 of the country’s 70,000 troops are stationed in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Aids specialists fear a higher, 40 per cent infection rate among soldiers. The SANDF has sought to play down concerns about a lack of combat readiness due to Aids. General Oelofse claimed that hearing loss and obesity were a more common reason than Aids for soldiers not meeting the criteria for peacekeeping missions.

Yet the cost of treatment and man-days lost to Aids is likely to increase sharply over the next few years. In 1996, 40 per cent of military deaths were due to medical reasons. Today that figure is 70 per cent. Soldiers showing symptoms of Aids would on average lose 45 working days a year, while a patient with full blown Aids would have a minimum of 120 days off a year, the Armed Forces say.

Infected soldiers and their families have been entitled to free anti-retroviral drugs since February, although the programme has not yet been fully rolled out. Soldiers who become too ill to continue working will remain on the defence force’s health plan.

South African troops cannot be tested for Aids without their permission unless they are to be deployed abroad. The SANDF is encouraging voluntary testing. It hopes to test 50,000 personnel over the next five years.

General Oelofse said that the SANDF had drawn up plans to recruit younger and healthier troops.

The infection rate for the Armed Forces is slightly higher than that in the community as a whole, where 20 per cent of those between the ages of 15 and 49 are HIV positive.

Link (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,1-1222439,00.html)