UNAIDS Executive Director Warns of Unprecedented Emergency in Southern Africa

ac'nowledce.Te threat fac ng their country. Crdinay citizens may hesitate to raise Whe issue or
coidom use vwith the r spouse ba- fear of acknowledging -t3V infezthn. 'regiant wo-en can be
reluctant to learn about their t-fV status ever whei offered zidovudine (AZT) and other support to
helh them give birth to a healthy baby. For example. when volunta'y -cunselling and NIV tes'ing
were ofered to pregnart women in Soumh Africa's Soweto, almost all accepted tesing, four-4V ths
ove -all returned to find out their N V status, but on y~ half cf those who:estezl positive came back for
ther:est results.
The v sible causes of fmness in severely immuicdeficien: people are often iiseeses such as
tuberculosis an: p Teumonia w ich are also common in HIV-negatiive ndividua s. 8ecause o'this
unusual 'eature of AIDS, the sltence that sarrounds the ~epdeic can 'oersist even when A DS e
patients are ill arnd dyirg. A recent stucy in southern ANrtca showed vha: fewe* than I ii 10 peo3le <
caring 'cr an H V- nfected reta:ive at home acknowleiged that the:erson was suifering f~am Al )S. $
and the patients themselves were only marginally more ike y to speak about the underlying cause of w
their illness.X
'All too often we know what needs to be done. but vie ic not act on tnis knowledge We need to help
people f nd ways to overxcrne tie iisccnifort they feel when talking about sexual issues ard H-IV
infection. We need to br ng AIDS cut i-to the opern', sai CDr Pio:
The head of JNiAIDS welcomed the recent mo'ie to greater openness about AIDS in Zimbabwve,
whe~e The Head of Sta~e has pubticly expressed ccncern about the sca e of the epidem c ani called
"cr more actar to ccunte* it. in Botswania and South Africa, appeals for greater awarenes5 and
openness by the cp leaders-ip have been co.plei with~ a decisicon to step up government fu'nding or
AIDS. The cha tenge now will be to tanslate these into effective prevention and care progammes.
For more idforma4v?. piease cont:acf Arie Viintr, UJNAWDS rnobie (+41 79) 213.4?12, Ricnard
Dcete, (JNA4OS, Jonannesburs,. (+2? '12) 33&.52$4, motLe (+27 O2) 902.0258, Lisa Jacobs,
UNA()S, Geneva, (--41 22) 791.3387 cr saren O Ms!iey, UANAiDS, New York. (+1 212) 899.5575.
You may sso visit the UINAIC S H-om~e Page cn the internet Fcr more information abcut the
p.-oiramme (ntts ^wunadsorg).