AIDS Control in Companies in Africa... (2)
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Dear Colleagues
I am glad to see efforts being made to handle the issue of AIDS
in companies in Africa. But I worry that we are missing an im-
portant element in the transmission of HIV-AIDS. Of course it
might be that I am misinformed, but I still worry nevertheless.
I have never been able to understand why Southern Africa has
such a high incidence of HIV-AIDS relative to everywhere else.
And this includes Zimbabwe, and South Africa and Botswana where
the health infrastructure had the potential to be very effec-
tive.
But the common thread is that all these countries have migrant
workers and the hostel system. These workers are "rich" by rural
community standards and away from their families for many months
a year (like 11 months) and when they go home they are a terri-
ble danger to their family and others they come in (sexual) con-
tact with. They are home. They are rich. And the community is in
mortal danger.
I would think that AIDS educational outreach must absolutely get
to every community everywhere. It is not enough to do the easy
outreach - urban sex workers - truck stops - mines and facto-
ries. What has to be done is something effective in every place
that people live, especially those that live in remote areas
where there are men working in the migrant mode - and that is
almost everywhere in Southern Africa.
The challenge is to do this. Local people can do it, but there
needs to be some funding. We don't fund this sort of interven-
tion. We tend to fund studies and reports and we don't fund very
much local people to talk and talk and talk about the problem,
and then go back again and talk and talk and talk some more. The
people at risk will listen to talk, but they cannot read our re-
ports and studies. Local people will do this work.... but they
need money for food and lodging and transport. Not a lot, but
some. Enough to meet their local obligations.
In connection with our concern about community level develop-
ment, and the community crisis that is almost everywhere in Af-
rica, we have implemented an Afrifund Database that is putting
on the record as much as possible about CBOs, and FBOs, and in-
formal organizations that work at the community level. These or-
ganizations are on the front line and not well funded. Many do
amazing work.
If anybody reading this has knowledge of this type of organiza-
tion and good stories about what is going on at a community
level, please help by telling us about it. If possible please
include contact information, and specifics of the location. Feel
free to check out the database... it is a wiki based open source
open access system... and all of us can be part of it!
http://www.afrifund.com/wiki/index.pcgi?page=AfrifundDatabase
http://www.afrifund.com/wiki/index.pcgi?page=DDIssueAIDS
Sincerely,
Peter Burgess
in New York
Tel: +1-212 772 6918
mailto:peterb@afrifund.com