Aids cases among Americans over 50 have quintupled since 1995. Today, seniors represent an estimated 14 per cent of total Aids cases and senior women represent 18 per cent of female Aids cases. The Washington-based Association of Reproductive Health Professionals indicates that 20 per cent of people over 70 engage in sexual activity at least once a week.
Fewer births and more deaths from Aids are helping slow world population growth, according to the US Census Bureau. The global population grew 1.2 per cent from 2001 to 2002, but it will slow to 0.42 per cent by 2005, far below the peak growth of 2.2 per cent between 1963 and 1964.
A woman in western Kenya allegedly murdered her husband because, in keeping with Luo tradition, he had ‘inherited’ the widow of his brother, who is thought to have died of Aids. She demanded her husband take an HIV test, which he refused to do, said Agence France-Presse.
The Australian Foreign Minister stated that the country had delayed contributing to the Global Fund because it wanted to “wait and see how the Global Fund would work out.” Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières issued a statement saying that, based on the size of its economy, Australia should be contributing US$25 million for 2004 alone, rather than just US$19 million over three years.
“Stigmatisation is very dangerous. It can kill a person living with
HIV/Aids faster, long before the virus kills him.”
Peter Piot of UNAIDS.
"It is irresponsible to say sex education and supplying condoms encourage
promiscuity. We wish people would be faithful to each other, but we must be
realistic about
condom use.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“It is not quality and safety and efficacy they [the American companies]
are concerned about, but the protection of patents. The reason this is being
held [the Botswana Meeting] is to come up with ways of undermining generic
drugs.”
Rachel Cohen, of Médecins sans Frontières.
“The WHO has made enormous headway in verifying the quality of generic
Aids drugs that are the only hope for millions of low-income people with Aids.
But to protect brand-name pharmaceutical interests, the United States may dash
that hope.”
Joanne Csete, director of the HIV/Aids Program at
Human Rights Watch.
“Young people [in Zambia] do not have sex with each other - it is usually
with older people, and they need to be able to protect themselves.”
Walter Tapfumaneyi, HIV/Aids Regional Coordinator
for Panos, responding to the Zambian government’s ban on the distribution
of condoms in schools.
“They kill more people than they save.”
Barrie Blower, chairman of Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust,
speaking about agency nurses while ‘comforting’ a grieving relative
at Manor Hospital. Blower later apologised
and resigned.
