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Blogwatch – Having a relationship with an HIV-negative partner

Posted by ignite editor on January 15th, 2010

We were reading the ‘Tracking HIV’ Blog and noticed this article that put out this link http://www.namlife.org/ in which there are several different pages of information about living with HIV, it was a real casual cool approach to the issues that arise with HIV, put across in an unprovocative manner – we strongly recommend you check it out. There was one post however, documented by ‘Tracking HIV’ that got us thinking, it may even do the same to you. Have a read of the post and drop us a comment below…

Having a relationship with an HIV-negative partner
By Claire Keeton

“Many people with HIV are in loving, supportive and intimate relationships. And many of these are with a partner who is HIV-negative,” a new page about relationships on the HIV website, namlife.org, proclaims.

“All relationships go through ups and downs and the presence of HIV in a relationship can exaggerate the routine stresses,” namlife.org advises.

“This section provides information on some of the more common problems that arise in relationships where one partner is HIV-positive and the other HIV-negative.”

This section on relationships goes way beyond traditional “Agony Aunt” columns since readers share their personal experiences on namlife.org, an award-winning organisation based in the UK.

Research in African countries has shown about one out of five relationships in Zambia and one out of eight relationships in Rwanda are between serodiscordant couples (one partner HIV positive, one partner HIV negative).

Dr Eric Hunter is driving the research to find out how HIV is transmitted from one partner to the other.

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/hiv/

So what did you think of the post?

Would you have a relationship with someone with HIV if you were HIV negative?

Then in anticipation of the response another question came to mind;

If you had HIV, at what point would you feel the need to tell a potential partner about the virus?

Drop us a comment and let us know…

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Donate to UNICEF’s Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal

Posted by ignite editor on January 14th, 2010

We’re sure by now you will be aware of the disastrous earthquake that has devastated the Caribbean island of Haiti, causing the death of what looks to be hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.

Over the last Six months MTV Staying Alive Ignite worked real close to UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Division specifically in Trinidad & Tobago and this news has hit us all hard.

It’s impossible to put into words what the people in Haiti must be experiencing, adding to the woes of a country that is not only one of the poorest in the world, but one that has been hit by endless tragedies, including floods, hurricanes and conflict all in the last decade.

Social networking sites have been instrumental in giving the people in Haiti a voice during this disaster and knowing that the world is with them at this moment in time is the least we can offer them throughout this period. So we hope you are all sparing a thought, a prayer, a message on hope – whatever you feel works best.

We also encourage you to all take time to consider giving anything you can to UNICEF’s Haiti Earthquake Appeal – check the information below for information on how you can help.

Feel free to drop a message of solidarity in the comments box.

Thanks

MTV Staying Alive Ignite

A devastating earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale has struck Haiti causing an unfolding humanitarian crisis. Children have been killed and injured — many are in desperate need of clean water, shelter and medical help. Early reports indicate a large number of casualties and widespread damage.

The situation for Haiti was already difficult before the earthquake hit the island. Haiti is the one of the poorest countries in the world and is struggling to recover from years of violence, insecurity and massive natural disasters. More than half of the country’s 9.6 million inhabitants are under 21 years of age.

All children have rights — these are most at risk of being denied in emergencies. UNICEF is working to ensure that the rights of children affected in Haiti are not forgotten.

A gift of £30 could provide 3 families with basic water kits, protecting more children’s right to be healthy.

Please donate to UNICEF’s Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal today.

UNICEF has been working in Haiti since 1949. We rely entirely on voluntary contributions and receive no funding from the United Nations budget.

Your donation will go to the Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal to support children affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti.

If the funds raised exceed UNICEF’s funding requirements for this emergency‚ the money will go to UNICEF’s Children’s Emergency Fund.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/give/index.asp?page=33&google=haiti_jan10&gclid=CJiswLOApJ8CFVVu4wodwA8lIw

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Newsflash – HIV/AIDS Group Going After Florida Adult Filmmakers

Posted by ignite editor on January 12th, 2010

We just spotted this article on sun-sentinal.com about a HIV/AIDS organisation going after Miami based adult film companies for the lack of condoms used in their films. This begs the question – just how much influence does the adult film industry have on the sexual behaviours of those who view the films. Just how much of what you see in a porn film are you, in particular young people likely to replicate with your partner?

HIV/AIDS Group Going After Florida Adult Filmmakers

Complaints about not using condoms

Although local film officials say they know nothing of a pornography business in South Florida, a California HIV/AIDS organization Monday said it is filing complaints with Florida health officials about Miami-made films in which sex actors did not use condoms.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which offers services and a health plan in South Florida, said it had identified 10 DVDs shot at least partly in Miami with no condom use, which it says encourages unsafe sex. Three Miami-based companies were involved, said group President Michael Weinstein, which indicates an adult film business exists here.

The complaints declare the condom-less films to be “sanitary nuisances” that lead to the spread of disease and should be stopped. The Florida Department of Health is looking into the matter, a spokeswoman said.

For more information about HIV/AIDS prevention, see www.cdc.gov/hiv

Bob LaMendola

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-condomless-porn-20100111,0,3530898.story

So what did you think about this article? Should the Adult film industry be pressurized to produce more responsible content? Is this a realistic ask, and how difficult would this be to police? Have you ever tried to replicate something you have seen in a porn film? Do you think condom use in Porn films would result in an increase in condom use amongst the audience?

Drop us a comment below…

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Newsflash – UNAIDS and Millennium Villages Project taking steps to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission in Africa

Posted by ignite editor on January 11th, 2010

newsflash

Great to see that UNAIDS are tackling the issue of Mother to Child HIV transmission. The article suggests that this is one of the most preventable ways of contracting HIV, and is something that should be treated as a priority, especially as the problem spreads across three of the Millennium Development Goals – Goal 4 (reduce child mortality), Goal 5 (improve maternal health) and Goal 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases).

Nairobi, 11 January 2010 – Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, visited one of the Millennium Villages in Sauri (western Kenya) to witness first-hand the progress that has been made in fighting poverty, boosting agricultural productivity, increasing access to health care and education, and creating an enabling environment for communities to build and sustain economic growth. Their visit focused particularly on efforts to virtually eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission and was part of an official five-day visit to Kenya.

UNAIDS and the Millennium Village project joined forces in September 2009 to strengthen prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services at the village level with the aim of creating “MTCT-free zones”. In the Millennium Villages, PMTCT services are integrated within the maternal-child health package and a continuum of care is offered to the mother from the antenatal period through delivery and the postnatal period. Levels of HIV testing among pregnant women in the Millennium Village sites have increased from 10% at baseline to over 60% in three years. The UNAIDS-MVP partnership will further improve on these gains by decreasing the incidence of HIV among women, meeting needs for modern contraceptives and blocking transmission from mothers to their babies.

“UNAIDS brings unrivaled global expertise, leadership, and detailed strategies to the fight against HIV/AIDS, including PMTCT,” said Sachs. “The MVP brings the power of integrated rural development, including primary health systems, to the fight against poverty, hunger, and disease. By teaming up, UNAIDS and MVP will design and implement a powerful system to bring PMTCT to near zero, and do so in a way that can be utilized in other parts of Africa and the world. I am profoundly grateful to Michel Sidibé and his colleagues at UNAIDS for this unique partnership, and know how much my colleagues throughout the MVP are looking forward to learning from and working together with UNAIDS.”

In 2008, 390,000 infants in sub-Saharan Africa became infected with HIV from their mothers. “AIDS has become the leading cause of the death among infants and young children in much of sub-Saharan Africa,” said Michel Sidibé. “We have seen that it is possible to virtually eliminate infant HIV infections in high-income countries through HIV testing of pregnant women, contraception, and the use of antiretroviral drugs during and after delivery. Now we must apply the knowledge and tools to create an AIDS-free generation in Africa and the rest of the world. The move towards universal prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission requires translating scientific evidence into routine practice. With a concerted effort, we can fully curb the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and bear witness as an HIV-free generation is born in Africa and the world,” said Sidibé.

The Millennium Villages Project (MVP), a partnership between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Millennium Promise, and local governments, provides a new approach to fighting poverty. Now covering approximately 500,000 people and growing, the project is showing the development community worldwide that an integrated package of development interventions, supported by a modest financial investment-about $110 per person annually over five to ten years-will be instrumental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Improving child survival and reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains a key focus of this effort.

As a result of the MVP, there are now six health centers in Sauri, where between 60-70% of people live on less than US$1 per day. Health throughout the Sauri village cluster has improved greatly since the project was set up in 2005 with a reduction in malaria cases, significant improvements in maternal and child health, and increased access to HIV testing and treatment.

The partnership between UNAIDS and MVP focuses specifically on achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 (reduce child mortality), Goal 5 (improve maternal health), and Goal 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases) by 2015 by decreasing the incidence of HIV among women, meeting couple’s needs for modern contraceptives and blocking transmission from mothers to their babies.

What did you think of the above article?Drop us a comment and let us know…

For more information on Mother to Child HIV Transmission, see the following link:

http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/Prevention/PMTCT/default.asp

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Newsflash – HIV Positive: No Reason for Lay-Off

Posted by ignite editor on January 11th, 2010

newsflash

Check out this article about an individual in Turkey who won his right to work in a court case against the discrimination shown by his employers in Turkey. This we feel is a great landmark case for people living with HIV, it is important that people know their rights in the workplace, in the fight against the stigmas and discrimination that can often prevent HIV positive people from living with HIV.

Istanbul – BİA News Center

11 January 2010, Monday

HIV positive person A.S. was layed-off because of his carrying the HIV virus. He did not accept this discrimination and went to court. Both the Labour Court and the Court of Appeals decreed for his return to work.

HIV positive A.S. went to court to seek his right against the discrimination of being made redundant because of carrying the HI virus. A labour court decided to return A.S. to work. Upon an appeal to the decision, the Court of Appeals confirmed the decree of the labour court. A.S. won the legal struggle.

“No other person who is HIV positive should experience what I was exposed to. They should take up the legal struggle against this kind of discrimination”, A.S. told bianet.

“It is difficult to overcome prejudice, yet we have no choice but struggling”. A.S. indicated that the struggle with AIDS/HIV should be a visible part of the state’s health policy. Also prejudice in the media should be dismantled by implementing scientific data into the news to ease the life of HIV positive people, A.S. stated.

HIV positive persons are exposed to discrimination in the fields of health service, property acquisition, business life and other areas of social life. The imposed violations evolve from desinformation about HIV/AIDS.

The Positive Life Association (PYD) puts efforts into reducing prejudice and preventing discrimination against HIV positive idividuals. Çiğdem Şimşek from the association named the violations of rights of people living with HIV and explained the mechanisms of struggle against it:

“It is crucial to know the rights in order to prevent discrimination against people who are HIV positive. One should know his/her own rights as well as the rights of the employer. The PYD runs the ‘law clinics project” in six towns with a high share of HIV positive people in the population. Within this project, we give material, moral and legal support for lawsuits of HIV positive people seeking justice against violation of rights”.

Şimşek argued that HIV positive people are most severely exposed to discrimination when benefiting from health service. “Furhtermore, they experience massive violation of rights at their work places. People buy medication secretly in order to avoid exclusion and lay-off. State officers have to pay for HIV medication from their own pocket”.

Şimşek points out that the association also puts efforts into spreading updated matter-of-fact information, saying that we should rather be open to learning instead of randomly labelling HIV positive people.

“The public does not want to be confronted with negative issues. Thus, we have to replace frightening messages by positive information. It is a more sensible approach to focus on the ways HIV cannot be transmitted than on focussing entirely on how to transmit it, for example.

A.S., who won the legal struggle against his employer, emphasized that while the global number of HIV infections is declining, the number of new cases in Turkey is increasing quickly. A.S. holds the insufficient measures taken by the government responsible for this development. (BÇ/VK)

What did you think of this article? Drop us a comment and let us know…

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Newsflash – Rwanda Running Out HIV/Aids Through Cricket

Posted by ignite editor on January 11th, 2010

We just spotted this article on AllAfrica.com about a joint effort between the Rwandan Cricket Association and National AIDS Control Commission (CNLS) in a programme called ‘Running AIDS out of Rwanda’. This initiative, targeted at primary and secondary schools, has proven increasingly effective and the young people taking part became increasingly sensitised to the messages that are being put across in a sporting context. This surely is an example to follow for all national and international sporting figures many who could perhaps use their idol status to deliver positive and effective messages on HIV.

9 January 2010

Linda Mbabazi

Kigali — Some of the students from the eight schools that participated in the AIDS campaign.

In Rwanda, Sports plays a fundamental role in raising HIV/AIDS awareness, especially among the youth.

This has been achieved through partnership with the National AIDS Control Commission (CNLS) that has carefully incorporated the HIV/AIDS campaign into the sports sector.

“We are far beyond that point where we debate on whether sports is a major tool in the AIDS campaign because the bigger percentage of Rwandans-young and old, are sports fanatics,” said Alex Karenzi, a 22 year-old sports fanatic.

HIV is just what it is-a micro-retro virus that slowly kills, and destroys the human race.

The lifestyle of many young adults today does not help much. Promiscuity and recklessness is characterised in the short-term vibes of youth enjoying life however, there are hazardous outcomes.

Ditching school for independence, cross- generation sex and unawareness of the various issues surrounding HIV/AIDS are the problem.

Priorities among the youth are messed up and getting harder to define daily.

Twenty year old Anita Kamikazi, a student at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), is passionate about the subject of cross-generation sex.

“How can the nation’s most productive people be used by older people as if they can’t see the consequences? It’s time for Rwandan youth to open their eyes and be aware of anything that can ruin their lives,” Kamikazi said.

“I love my culture, I respect it with utmost sincerity, but that does not mean I’m an idiot when it comes to analyzing it as well,” she added.

Raising awareness

Recently, the Rwanda Cricket Association in partnership with CNLS concluded a two-day long crusade against HIV/AIDS in eight schools in Kigali.

These included renowned secondary schools like APRED Ndera, Lycée de Kigali, ADB Secondary School as well as primary schools like St. Joseph Primary.

Under the theme, “Running AIDS out of Rwanda and bringing cricket to Africa and fighting AIDS”, youth were sensitized.

In an exclusive interview Charles Haba, the Chairman of Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) told The New Times that the campaign was an effort to promote AIDS awareness and participate in the social, economic and political life of today’s youth through cricket.

“Our focus centers on keeping school-going children busy during their holidays,” he said.

He underscored the benefits of the campaign in the lives of theyouth.

“We are keeping them aware of the dangers of HIV/AIDS, and giving them an opportunity to showcase their talent as we also discover raw talent,” Haba said.

“Sports is probably amongst the best avenues of sending these messages. Through sports you get numbers and people come to play willingly; better still, our cricketers get to travel a lot, so they need to be on top of their game in terms of awareness and performance.”

According to Robert Mugisha, the Administration and Development Officer of RCA, students were taught on how to prevent themselves from contracting the virus and its dangers.

“All this gave an outlet to the children to express their inner desires and emotions,” Mugisha said.

Protection

The fight against HIV/AIDS in Rwanda is monitored by the National AIDS Control Commission (CNLS). The commission was formed in 2000 under the Office of the President to coordinate the multi-sectoral programme on the AIDS pandemic.

Rwanda is one of the hard hit countries in the world but it has the leadership, the political and people’s commitment to reverse the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS.

Fighting the AIDS stigma against HIV positive Rwandans and encouraging people to go for testing in order to know their status has been incorporated in the AIDS campaign.

“I hope that young people living with HIV can grow up without discrimination and can lead fruitful lives,” said one parent Anthony Bizimana, 59.

So what did you think of this article? We think it is a real positive move by the Rwandan Cricket Association, and the fact that they have recognised that they have the potential reach to deliver these messages should also serve as an example to other influential sporting figures.

The article suggests that the initiative is particularly successful in Rwanda due to the high level of “sports fanatics” in their country, however we feel there is a high level of sports fanatics in just about every country in the world.

Do you think sporting figures and teams could play a bigger role in the fight against HIV/AIDS across the board? Also what sports figures do you recognise as already actively using their positions to spread messages of HIV?

Drop us a comment and let us know…

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Tribes

Posted by ignite editor on January 5th, 2010

That’s right -Directed by The Guru himself Ras Kassa and made possible by our partners, UNICEF

MTV Staying Alive Ignite Presents… Tribes

While we have already posted these videos on our official Ignite website:

(www.staying-alive.org/ignite/trinidad), we thought seeing as you all love the blog so much we would stick them up here too.

Make sure you drop us some comments and let us know what you think:

Tribes – Episode 1

http://www.vimeo.com/7916021

Tribes – Episode 2

http://www.vimeo.com/7916041

Tribes – Episode 3

http://www.vimeo.com/7916042

There you have it! Is that the first time you have seen this show or were you one of the many who caught it on the TV?

Drop us a comment and let us know.

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Newsflash – UN lauds US and SKorea for lifting HIV travel ban

Posted by ignite editor on January 5th, 2010

newsflash

Old timers on this blog may remember when we broke the news that American President Obama was planning to remove travel restrictions for people living with HIV, allowing them to travel unrestricted to The United States, today we are pleased to post this article from the Associated Press in which it emerges South Korea are also lifting their travel restrictions for people living with HIV.

The first thing that should be acknowledged is that these announcements are a LONG time coming, these restrictions should never have been put in place and on the same note should have been removed a long time ago. No virus, illness, disease or disability should ever effect your human rights, especially in a country such as America which is supposedly land of the free!

But for all of you popping the champagne in celebration of this news, hold back just a little as Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova, Oman, Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia all need to get their policies in check and remove their HIV Travel Bans before we can have total freedom for persons living with HIV.

Have a read of the report below and let us know what you think…

UN lauds US and SKorea for lifting HIV travel ban
Associated Press

04/01/2010

Story carried by Washington Post, Canadian Press, New York Times

By Edith M. Lederer

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations praised the United States and South Korea on Monday for lifting travel bans on people with HIV and urged 57 other countries with travel restrictions to end them quickly.

President Barack Obama announced in October that the U.S. would overturn a 22-year-old travel ban against people with HIV, and the new rule eliminating the ban came into force on Monday. South Korea eliminated travel restrictions for people with the HIV virus, which causes AIDS, on Jan. 1.

Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, which coordinates the U.N.’s AIDS response, called the policy changes “a victory for human rights on two sides of the globe.”

Ending the restrictions means travelers who are HIV positive can now enter both countries.

In the United States, the ban has kept out thousands of students, tourists and refugees and has complicated the adoption of children with HIV. No major international AIDS conference has been held in the U.S. since 1993, because HIV-positive activists and researchers could not enter the country.

In 1987, at a time of widespread fear and ignorance about HIV, the Department of Health and Human Services added HIV to the list of communicable diseases that disqualified a person from entering the U.S. The department tried in 1991 to reverse its decision but was opposed by Congress, which went the other way two years later and made HIV infection the only medical condition explicitly listed under immigration law as grounds for inadmissibility to the U.S.

When Obama announced in October that the ban would be overturned, he commended Congress and former President George W. Bush for starting the process to eliminate the ban in 2008 and said his administration was “finishing the job.”

“It’s a step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment, it’s a step that will keep families together, and it’s a step that will save lives,” Obama said. “If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Obama in October and applauded South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak on Monday “for his country’s leadership in ending restrictions towards people living with HIV that have no public health benefit.”

“I repeat my call to all other countries with such discriminatory restrictions to take steps to remove them at the earliest,” Ban said in a statement.

Among the countries that still have restrictions on entry, residence and length of stay for HIV sufferers are China, Cuba, Egypt, North Korea, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Iraq and Russia.

Sidibe, the UNAIDS chief, called for “global freedom of movement for people living with HIV in 2010, the year when countries have committed to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.”

Discrimination against people with HIV “has no place in today’s highly mobile world,” he said in a statement.

So what are your feelings towards this announcement? Are you a person living with HIV? or do you know anyone living with HIV who will be affected by this? Can you believe there were even restrictions on traveling to America with HIV in the first place?

Drop us a comment and let us know…

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The Double Standard

Posted by ignite editor on January 5th, 2010

mtv-ignite_4845

As regulars on this blog will know, on November 28th we screened MTV Staying Alive Ignite drama Tribes at The University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago in front of hundreds of students, followed by a questions and answers round shortly after. Camille Davis, part of the Tribes crew felt so strongly about the public perception of lead female Trisha (Nikita Legall), she wanted to get it off her chest, in a rant about the double standards between males and Females in Trinidad and Tobago. So have a read of the article and lets get a debate going…

I am struck by the fact that double standards exist in every aspect of our lives. But one that stands out the most is the male/female double standard which is really more like a sub-culture in Trinidad and Tobago. It was never more apparent in the response to the lead female “Trisha” in MTV Staying Alive Ignite drama “Tribes”, (Played by Nikita Legall). I was bombarded with people telling me how they could “relate” to the lead male actor Jamahl (played by Joseph Lopez), but the most I got for the female was “She!? She real piss me off boy!” “Look at how she mess him up.”

To me, Jamahl was not the only one who was given a raw deal here. It was pointed out in the University of West Indies première that Tricia had NO parents available to guide her. Everything she had learnt she probably learnt herself. Yet people found it easy to point fingers and most were able to rustle up some ill feelings towards her. I commented and pointed out that if the script was reversed and Jamahl was the one cheating and had a “sugarmama” I could bet my last cent that the audience would have been still sympathetic to his plight of becoming HIV positive.

I hear so many people say derogatory things to and about females who are even a little sexually exploratory, or had more than one lover, but they smile and nod when it comes to the men. If I stood in a room with 100 people in it – male and female – and asked the question who has ever used one or more of the words slut, whore, hoe, bitch, tramp etc., I am sure all would be raised high – including myself.

Yet society is very quiet about the phenomenon of men having children and not providing for them, or husbands stepping out and having whole new families while still in a committed relationship with their wives. No one ever seems to talks about the husbands who are on the down low (married men who are gay or experiment with homosexual men.)

We as human beings should all be held to the same standards regardless of colour of skin, texture of hair, wealth or sexual preference and definitely regardless of GENDER…

HIV does not discriminate. And if we are going to beat this thing neither should we. When entering into a relationship of any sort there should be a communication between both parties and a general meeting of the minds. Condoms should be used at all times especially if there are doubts.

Yes Tricia was wrong to use/juggle two men but I wonder if people heard when Jamahl pointed out that HE could have had it a long time from his indiscretions before her… it was both of their responsibilities to get tested in the first place. We should start working on society’s perception of the woman as this infallible princess that cannot and should not do any wrong, while men are not held to any discernable standards at all. I feel that both are a big part of the problems we face every day.

Its time we move out of the past and started moving towards a future where we can be HIV /AIDS free. And the only way I feel we can do this is to change our thought patterns around gender and stigma.

So what did you think of what Camille had to say? Is there a real double standard in Trinidad and Tobago? Is Camille on point with what she is saying?Whatever you think drop us a comment below and tell us.

For all of you who have not yet seen Tribes, (Where have you been??), click on the link below to watch all three episodes.

http://ignite.staying-alive.org/trinidad/videos

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Newsflash – South African Muppet Kami speaks the language of acceptance

Posted by ignite editor on January 4th, 2010

So who has watched Sesame Street recently? Viewers in South Africa will already know but let me introduce the rest of the world to Kami, who has been in the show since 2002 as a Muppet living positively with HIV. Ok if you feel a bit confused at the moment, make sure you read the full article below, but understand how positive this is for the de-stigmatization of HIV/AIDS. Sesame Street airs largely to kids, parents and in many cases; students, but primarily kids, by talking about the virus like this in the open we are bringing the disease out where it can be talked about and facts made available, with the hope that they will be able to grow up informed and without discrimination around the topic. Have a read and let us know what you think…

kami2

Sesame Street fans across the world are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the popular children’s television programme this year. In South Africa, the programme’s local version called Takalani Sesame is revelling in the popularity of its mustard-coloured furry Muppet, Kami, who is openly living in HIV.

Sesame Street originated in the United States and has since adapted to fit the culture and needs of the 140 countries where it has been exported. In South Africa, too, where an estimated 5.7 million people live with HIV the inclusion of the character Kami who is HIV-positive aims to counter stigma and discrimination through creating awareness and addressing fears and misconceptions about HIV.

The introduction of Kami, which means “acceptance” in the South African language Setswana, is an effort by the South African government to bring to the fore issues related to HIV. Kami was created at the behest of the South African government, which sponsors the show, in an effort to change perceptions of people living with HIV through edu-tainment

On the show, Kami is a five-year-old orphan whose mother died of AIDS. Part of her character’s role is to destigmatise those living with HIV, and to open discussion about sensitive issues including coping with illness and bereavement.

Talking about the Kami, Takalani Sesame producer Naila Farouky says, “Her whole intention is that she lives positively despite the fact that she has this virus.”

The idea of an HIV-positive Muppet began to take shape early in 2002, when Sesame Workshop and South African partners met in South Africa and New York to discuss their commitment to addressing the HIV issue on the show.

Since September 2002, Kami has helped dispel the culture of silence that prevents so many South Africans from seeking and receiving care for their illness. “Sometimes when you’re ill, you mustn’t keep it a secret, you must tell people,” Kami says in one episode.

“Takalani Sesame is the most ambitious project outside the US,” says Gloria Britain, who heads the Project Office in Johannesburg. “No other country version has pushed at the boundaries of the United States model quite as much as South Africa.”

Although prevalence of HIV along people below the age of 20 in South Africa has been declining significantly, an estimated 280,000 children still live with HIV in the country and up to one million have been orphaned by the epidemic.

HIV prevalence among children aged two and older also varies by province, with the Western Cape (3.8%) and Northern Cape (5.9%) being least affected, and Mpumulanga (15.4%) and KwaZulu-Natal (15.8%) at the upper end of the scale.

HIV in South Africa is transmitted predominantly heterosexually between couples, with mother-to-child transmission being the other main mode of transmission.

Incorporating all 11 of South Africa’s official languages into its scripts, Takalani Sesame is seen by an estimated half-million kids a week. Its audience is pre-school children aged between three and seven years and their caregivers. As 30% of homes in South Africa do not have television, a radio version of the programme and an outreach initiative have also been launched.

Sesame Street runs through 140 countries, is broadcast in over 30 different languages, and provides the foundation for a truly powerful educational programme that directly addresses the challenging issues of global awareness and appreciation.

Check out the video below of Bill Clinton speaking with Kami and let us know what you think

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