Preventing AIDS

I am a little bit intrigued by the news from South Africa about AIDS. The country is bracing itself for children orphaned by parents who have died from AIDS related illnesses (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 7, 1999). Further it is stated that in South Africa the single largest category of HIV carriers are young black women. At one university, 80 percent of the female students proved to be HIV positive in a recent test. There is a one-third chance that mothers will pass on the virus to their children. Yet that does not discourage many HIV-positive women from becoming pregnant.

"Most of these people are dirt poor," says Father Hughes Gibbs. "All they have left is sex."

I would like to pose some questions. Why is such a terrible disease rampant among them? What is the role of religion in that community? Can some aspect of their culture be used to do something in the battle against this disease?

To help solve this problem sex education is needed. One of the goals of this type of education is to enable those who are sexually active to be aware of the danger of improper sex. It is necessary to note that according to Joe Welder, in his book Men's Fitness Magazine, the HIV virus can't be spread through a sneeze, touching, using the same toilet seat or any other casual contact. But blood, semen and vagina fluids are dangerous. Evidence is overwhelming that they are the major causes in the spread of the disease among human beings. So, if we wish to avoid this horrible disease, men must stay home where their wives are waiting to serve them rather than go out for illegal or improper sexual pleasure.

ODO FADLOELI

Bandung