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Drama is a
useful tool for instigating HIV/Aids specific behaviour change.
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Why HIV continues its rapid
spread across Africa
Testing positive for the Human
Immune-Deficiency Virus (HIV) is devastating news for anyone, for life
seems to change irrevocably, dreams shattering in a flash, visions of
pain, suffering and loneliness dominating the thoughts of one in that
situation.
The spread of HIV continues incessantly despite campaigns by
governments, churches, schools and individuals to stop, or slow down,
the spread of this mutant virus. Organizations working at global,
regional and at the village level have emerged to fight the spread of
HIV, pouring in money, time and other resources in HIV/AIDS projects.
Perhaps HIV cannot be contained because its mode of transmission,
unlike that of other deadly diseases, touches at a core element of
human existence: sexuality. For sexuality is vital in reproduction and
key to the continued existence of man on earth. Without sex, there
would be no offspring, but with sex comes the risk of HIV/AIDS
transmission.
In Kenya, the numbers of those said to be living with the HIV virus is
said to be upwards of 2 million. Teenagers and young adults have fallen
to the virus too, as they explore sexuality in a society where
traditional and religious inhibitions have been lowered over time.
Collectively termed as “youth”, and aged between 15 and 30, this is a
section of the population that has not experienced life at all, many of
them harboring high hopes for the future. Those who have advanced to
universities and technical colleges are embarking on the first steps of
their careers when they get to learn of a positive HIV status. Sadly,
this revelation marks the abrupt termination of career and future
ambition. Depression arising from psychological and emotional stress
becomes crippling. And even though the society is gradually acceptive
of those infected, discrimination persists and chances of employment
and career advancement for the HIV infected are virtually nil.
The question commonly heard outside Africa is: “Why do Africans keep
getting infected in spite of all the information available about HIV
and AIDS?” There has been racial rationalization of the spread of the
HIV virus, with Africans claiming that its part of a Western conspiracy
at population control. Westerners hit back criticizing Africans for
being “over-sexed.” However, as youth in Kenya point out, sexuality has
many facets to it and explanations tinged in stereotypes cannot
adequately explain the continued plague of HIV in this part of the
world. As one girl in the Kenyan town of Kisumu puts it, “anyone
engaging in sex is at risk of getting infected,” regardless of race,
tribe, nationality or marital status.
Youth the world over are fun loving and adventurous (even in
relationships). The town of Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria, is
renowned for its night life – small neighborhood pubs host live bands
that play to packed floors more so during the weekends. For a night,
age becomes irrelevant: so long as you have the energy and cash to
spare, you can pop into any entertainment joint and have a good time.
The young mingle with the old, and the old with the young. It’s the
equivalent of a mini-carnival, with everyone dressed the part. Middle
aged men in brightly colored African prints, women in elegant flowing
robes, and of course the youth; seeking to emulate the likes of
Jennifer Lopez, Eminem, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce.
“We go to night clubs with friends where there’s heavy drinking,
smoking and drug use. Also the styles of dancing are very suggestive we
find ourselves caressing, touching and kissing. This can lead to sexual
acts that spread HIV,” says a young woman living with HIV in Kisumu.
“Some types of clothing are meant to provoke sex,” says the woman,
“tight jeans for girls, skirts with long slits that expose the thighs
and spaghetti tops for the breasts.”
This particular girl learnt of her HIV status early 2004. She is now a
youth counselor with the Teenage Mothers and Girls Association of
Kenya, (TEMAK), holding sessions with other HIV positive youth, sharing
experiences and providing support to each other.
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Youth sub-culture has its own code
for communicating sexual desire among its members. “Certain finger
signs mean it’s alright to have sex,” says the young woman who
graduated from college recently, “and licking ones lips with the tongue
sticking out indicates a desire for lovemaking.” Peer pressure comes in
the form of such slogans as “FANTA”, meaning “Foolish Africans Never
Take Alcohol.” This, according to her, pushes many to take up drinking
in an attempt at appearing civilized.
Pop stars glorify engaging in casual sex with multiple partners in
their music and through their real life personas as reported in the
media. A number of youths strive to emulated the media image of their
pop idols, a sure channel of HIV transmission. The exaggerated
narration of individual sexual exploits imposes pressure on peers to
outperform in a bid to set records, so to speak.
Another reason for engaging in multiple relationships is economic.
Young people from poor backgrounds and orphans, more so girls, seek
relationships with older, richer people who can pay for fashionable
clothes, mobile phones and cosmetics. For a long time, this has been
described as the sugar daddy/sugar mummy phenomenon, referring to the
affluent man or woman who provides sweet goodies to young lovers. This
phenomenon serves to transmit HIV across various generations as older
married lovers also pass on HIV to wives and husbands.
“Don’t Africans care about the dangers posed by unprotected sex?” goes
a repeated response to the persistent spread of HIV in Africa.
Undoubtedly, everyone knows about HIV and AIDS, even small children in
elementary school are aware of the disease. Campaigns in schools and in
the media have achieved the objective of imparting knowledge about the
disease to the majority of the population. What hasn’t been achieved,
to a desirable degree, is behavior change. Youths have insulated
themselves from the fear of HIV infection through myths created by
their own subculture. Without these absurd myths, everyone would be too
scared to sleep around.
“Some people believe withdrawing the penis before ejaculation will
reduce the chances of transmitting the HIV virus,” says another youth
living with HIV. This belief holds that the HIV virus is passed on
through semen, though it has been established that minor cuts during
sex can open up windows to infection. To add to this myth, it’s
believed that boys only release semen during the day, so sex at night
is safe! “It’s thought that drinking beer after sex will wash out the
HIV virus through urine flow,” she adds. Other youths say that AIDS is
only for middle-aged married people and not for those in school.
Racial and ethnic stereotypes have fostered beliefs that members of
specific communities are prone to infection. At the same time, some
communities still adhering to traditional customs explain away AIDS
infection as a curse from gods for breaking one or other taboo. Even
Christians aren’t immune to falsehoods: there is a suggestion that AIDS
is God’s punishment to the human race.
While myths exist to alleviate worries of AIDS infection, other myths
exist to encourage sex. For instance, boys are told that abstaining
from sex would result in serious backache caused by sperm accumulating
in the backbone. In certain ethnic groups that regard fat women as
beautiful, girls are made to believe that frequent sex will broaden
their hips, lighten their skin color and make them fatter.
Biologically, there is no basis for such beliefs, as excess sperm
produced by men is harmlessly absorbed by the blood stream. A woman’s
body structure and appearance is determined by genetic factors not by
frequency of sex.
The world has woken up to the scale of deaths and social problems
occasioned by HIV and AIDS. While efforts go into finding a cure for
the virus and towards keeping as much of the population AIDS free, much
needs to be done into making life manageable for those living with HIV
together with their families. At the same time, there should be a
cognizance that efforts into fighting AIDS aren’t likely to completely
eliminate the disease, only control its spread and ease suffering.
For as long as humans continue to exist on earth, each generation
giving birth to the next like as it has happened over the eons, the
risk of acquiring AIDS may exist in tandem into the indefinite future.
© 2004
Godfrey Kimega
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