Straight Talk, September 2006

www.straight-talk.or.ug

Journalists for a day

Words of wisdom "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Napoleon Hill

temb o. 9 Sep Vol. 13 N

er 2006

Students of Bukoto High School getting together as 'Journalists for a Day'. They wrote the A to Z of HIV/AIDS prevention. See page 2 for a quiz on the A-Z of HIV.

We can end this suffering This does not have to be our life Depending on our actions, HIV can increase, stay the same or decline.

Untold suffering that we can prevent...

HIV has caused us unbearable suffering. We have lost over one million loved ones, and another one million have HIV today. Look at the child's face in the picture above. About one million of us have watched our parents die of AIDS. "Oh,

Mummy, I miss you," wrote one orphan girl to Straight Talk.

In the other photo, a mother holds her son. What if that were your mother? What if that were you? Can we continue like this? Usually Straight Talk does not publish such sad pictures. But we need to say it loudly: Uganda may be losing the fight. Says Dr Apuuli Kihumuro, director of the Uganda AIDS Commission: "The epidemic is getting on top of us."

What is happening with HIV? Three scenarios are possible. 1. HIV stays the same -- high but steady, infecting about 6% of adults. 2. HIV infects more and more people. 3. We relaunch our efforts at preventing infection and HIV goes down! The worst case: we relax and HIV starts to increase. This can happen!

We keep on with our current behaviour: HIV prevalence remains the same. Not good enough! The best scenario: we take action and HIV goes down!

Last year 130,000 of us got infected, and HIV rose in 10 antenatal clinics

around the country. This is bad news. In the past Uganda has been able to push HIV down. Some of us are struggling to stop the behaviours that allow HIV to spread. Many males still have multiple partners. Boys, with each partner, your chance of infection rises.

Girls mostly get infected when they marry. Girls, always test with your partner and do not marry a man who refuses to test or wants to have other women. Sex with a person of unknown HIV status is high risk.

HIV is high everywhere but highest in Central and the Central North with over 8% of people aged 15-49 infected. It is rising in West Nile and Karamoja, areas that have been less affected in the past.

Keep your goal in mind Hello, beautiful young people. Welcome back to third term. Oh no! No fees? You are now outof-school? You can get back! Rush to get an income earning project. Stay busy. Form a listening group to a Straight Talk radio show. Join a peer educator training or NAADS group. Does your church want youth workers? Your community may offer more opportunities than you think. Look around. Even if you feel lonely and worried, do not get into sex. Sex will consume the money you earn for fees.

Stay safe

2 Straight Talk, September 2006

Abstinence, faithfulness and condoms help protect against HIV. But have you ever stopped to think why even people who know the ABC of AIDS still get infected and infect others? Read these pages to find out about what makes all of us vulnerable to HIV.

Fight the root causes of HIV Please, husband. Let us test for HIV.

No. I'm the boss. I make all decisions.

Negative attitudes

Some students refuse to be taught by teachers they think have HIV. This is unkind and discriminatory.

Did you know that girls aged 15-19 are nine times more likely to have HIV than boys the same age.

Do you think that boys are more clever than girls? Do you think that boys should make all the decisions? Such beliefs expose you to risks of HIV -- whether you are a boy or a girl.

When you stigmatise people with HIV, it becomes difficult for them to open up and go for care.

It is true. Girls need the power and authority over their own lives so that they can also stay safe. to marry early. • Relatives taking the property of orphans.

High levels of STDs

Love

STDs are a huge problem in Uganda and they are getting worse. In the last five years, STDs have doubled in females and tripled in males! The most common STD is now genital herpes. It has no cure and causes many small blister-like wounds on your private parts. These come and go.

ThIs photo shows a cervix with genital herpes wounds.

An illustration of the head of the penis with genital herpes blisters.

This drawing shows the position of the cervix at the mouth of the womb.

Kibanzanga High School, Kasese. We urge other students to abstain from things that can spoil their education.

We usually think that only bad things cause you to get infected with HIV. But good things also make you vulnerable. One of those good things is n love. It is beautiful to fall in a t i o and n i m ri ls love. Everyone falls in love Discinst gir sooner or later. Everybody aga e n needs and wants love. wom Are you in love or do you think that you might be? Try to control your feelings. Do not let them lead you into sex and relationship complications. Does the other person also love you or are they taking advantage of your feelings to get sex?

ur ult

Never stigmatise. Support and encourage people living with HIV to open up. Wouldn't you want humane treatment if you had HIV?

Hav p a r t ing ma o f C n e r s , ny o n d low o m s use

Here are some of the root causes of the HIV epidemic. Remember some of these are within you so you have the power to control them. For example, you exercise a lot of control over when and with whom you have sex.

Medical interventions help but cannot prevent or cure HIV/AIDS Vaccines Scientists are urgently seeking a vaccine through trials in Uganda and elsewhere in the world. But the virus is complex, and a successful vaccine is still many years away.

ART There are over 70,000 HIV positive Ugandans who are benefitting from AntiRetroviral Therapy (ART). People with HIV need ART when their CD4 count drops below 200 or when they get very sick.

And remember, vaccines are not a CURE for disease. They prevent disease by teaching your immune system to recognise the diseasecausing agent.

But ART does not cure HIV/AIDS. You can still infect others. And if you stop taking the ART, you fall sick again.

Unlike with diseases like measles and \TB which have successful vaccines, doctors have not been able to teach the immune system how to demobilise the HIV virus.

Doctors are searching for a jelly or cream that females can insert into their vagina to kill any HIV that might be in the semen of the male that they are having sex with. So far doctors have

Microbicides

In 1989 Phily Bongoley Lutaya became the first Ugandan to go public about his HIV status. He was mocked by people who thought he wanted money. Now we admire him for his courage.

Infection is also associated with STDs, multiple partners, and inconsistent use of condoms.

al

c ve e s i t ga t i c Ne r a c p

The uninfected run the risk of getting infected by people who are too frightened to test or disclose that they have HIV. People living with HIV are denied the care and respect that they need and have a right to..

3

Is poverty a factor? According to Uganda's HIV/AIDS Serobehavioural Survey in 2004-5, some of the poorest areas, such as West Nile and Karamoja, have the lowest proportion of people living with HIV. HIV infection is highest among people in towns, women, and widows and divorced people.

s ip : sh es on m ati ho rel n r i e in we nc Po iole v

There is a powerful link between HIV and genital herpes. The sores are like many open doors through which HIV can simply walk into your body. A staggering 52% of females and 46% of males aged over 15 have genital herpes. See a health worker if you have sores or problem on your genitals.

By the way, are you a gender- sensitive teenager? Look out for the gender test in the next Straight Talk.

STDs

• Girls having sex for money or things. • Parents forcing children

Other people who may or may not be infected become too frightened to test. HIV becomes a dangerous secret.

Lov sex e and uali ty

Here are other negative attitudes and practices: •Boys having many partners to show they are men.

Shame, secrecy, stigma

Gender problems

Straight Talk, September 2006

Most women do not deliver in health centres, and women who test positive are often frightened to tell their husbands.

not yet found a successful substance that does this, but research is promising. A microbicide that works well may be five years away.

Circumcision Removing the foreskin from the penis may somewhat lower chances of HIV infection for both the male and the female he is having sex with. But circumcised men and their partners still get HIV.

PMTCT or PPTCT Prevention of mother or parent-to-child transmission of HIV is available in over 200 sites. If the mother with HIV

HIV is a difficult virus. It has nine genes, five of which are constantly changing. follows the treatment from start to finish, it lowers the chances of the baby getting HIV by about 70%. But about 30% of babies still get infected. There are other problems.

All in all, only 2% of women and babies who need the medicine are receiving it! This is disappointing. Now the Ministry of Health wants all husbands to test with their wives.

Testing for HIV Testing HIV negative does not protect you from HIV. It is only your behaviour after the test that will keep you negative. Stay safe!

QUIZ 1 Straight Talk wants to hear from you Send us the story of a person you know who has HIV. What do you think made them vulnerable to getting infected? What was the root cause? Do not use their name. If you are living with HIV, we would also like to hear from you. Write to Straight Talk, PO Box 22366, Kampala.

Get a social vaccine against HIV So far the best vaccines we have are "social vaccines". A social vaccine is something we do such as: • talk to our parents • stay in school • respect ourselves and the opposite sex. All these all help us to control our curiosity about sex and our sexual and love feelings,and to discuss HIV testing, condom use and faithfulness with our future partner.

QUIZ 2: THE A to Z of HIV prevention

Discuss with your Straight Talk club the A-Z of HIV prevention. Find a word beginning with each letter of the alphabet which says something about preventing HIV. For example, J might stand for Justice for people with HIV and Z for Zerograzing. A big prize awaits the most original entry.

4 Straight Talk, September

2006

Forced sex

I hear that if you experience back pain, it is a sign that you have alot of sperm in the body. Is it true? E Ukuyi, Comprehensive HS, Mbale No! That is a misleading myth. Sperm does not cause back pain. The body has its natural way of releasing excess sperm through wet dreams.

Wet dreams

I hear my friends talking about something called wet dreams. What is it? D Olowo, Kinyara SS, Masisndi. This is when a boy passes out creamy stuff through his penis. It happens during sleep. This is one of the changes boys experience during adolescence. Wet dreams are not a sign to start sex. No! It is a normal process of growth and has no side effects.

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Back pain myth

I’m a virgin

I am 20 and still a virgin. I have a girlfriend who wanted us to have sex. But when I said we should test for HIV, she refused. What can I do? N Ainebyona, Standard High School, Ntungamo Congratulations on being a virgin! Explain to your girlfriend the importance of HIV testing. Remember that the test alone will not protect you against HIV/STDs and unwanted pregnancy. You need also to be faithful to your partner and try to ensure that she is faithful to you. In addition, you need to always use condoms. But is this a serious relationship? Do you really want sex? Think hard about what you want and do not be pressured.

We advise fellow youths to stay safe, respect elders and be God loving, ST club, Standard HS, Lira I can take four months without seeing my periods. And when I start bleeding, it can take three to four weeks. Am I normal? Mariat Tushemereirwe, Standard HS, Ntungamo

Patrick Edep, Teso College Aloet, Soroti.

Irregular periods are common when you are a teenager. But no, it is not normal to bleed for three or more weeks. Periods should last for seven days at most. Lengthy bleeding will make you weak and anaemic. Please see a health worker. Is it true that when you use condoms, your penis develops wounds? Isaac Bitambireki, 17, S3, Bright Academy SS, Kasese

No, not at all. Condoms are tested to ensure that they do not leave side effects on the users. It is unprotected sex that gives you wounds from genital herpes and syphilis. Remember that for condoms to be effective you need to use them correctly everytime you have sex. Guard yourself against lies that may expose you to HIV infections.

Cervical cancer

I have never had sex but my friends tell me that I will get cancer of the cervix. This worries me. Stella Amolo, Standard High School, Lira Cervical cancer from abstaining? Impossible. It is sex that causes cervical cancer, particularly early sex and sex with multiple partners. Cervical cancer is caused by a virus that is transmitted through sex.

Multiple partners I have three girl friends.

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As people who love you, your mother and aunt want to protect you. They may be concerned that these boys will want you to have sex. You need to discuss your intentions and feelings with your mother and aunt. Let them know exactly how you feel. But listen to them. Parents love their children and such protection is one way of showing their love. Stay out of danger.

3666 2236 Boxx22 O.Bo P.P.O. A L A P M KK AA M P A L A

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We have been friends with boys in the neighbourhood for a long time but my mother and aunt have started saying that we should stop playing with the boys. I don’t know why. A Ainembabazi, 15, S2 Kashaka Girls SS, Mbarara

SYFA

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Friendship

Dear

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I had a relationship with a boy who later lured me into sex. I did not like it. But to make it worse, now I have lost weight. Could I have contracted HIV? A Namata, 15, S1, St Janam Luwum, SS, Kampala Talk to a trusted adult about how you are feeling. You need to do an HIV test to put your mind at rest. A counselor will prepare you for the HIV test. Sex is one of the main ways through which HIV is transmitted in Uganda. Think about the reasons why you got “lured” into sex. Change your behaviour and stop having sex. Wait until you are old and able to make healthy decisions. Put your life first. A relationship with a member of the opposite sex does not mean having sex.

One of them loves me so much. I think she can make a good wife. But her parents are rude. M N, 18, Kihindi Youth Club, Kasese Are these girls your sexual partners? Having more than one sexual partner is a big reason why people are still getting infected with HIV. Most likely, none of these girls knows that you are having other girls. Put yourself in their shoes. Now think about what your reaction would be if you learnt that your girlfriend has other boyfriends. You would feel hurt emotionally and frightened about STDs like HIV. Perhaps the girls’ parents are rude because they have sensed what kind of person you are. Stick to one partner. It is one of the social vaccines. Counsellor: Dr Michael Mulowooza, Hoima Hospital

Abstinence is our key. Members of ST club, Tororo Community SS

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