AIDemocracy.org

The Positive Side of Cycling

January 18, 2013 by credmond Leave a Comment

Lance Armstrong’s admission to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs during his 7 Tour De France wins has left a black mark on his career and the entire sport of cycling. Armstrong’s confession is one in a line of cyclists that have admitted to lying and cheating to reach the top of their sport. However, the silver lining is that these professional cyclists are a small portion of the cycling community, and the majority of cyclists are using their two wheels for far better reasons. The World Bicycle Relief is an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less Tagged With: Africa, Bicycles, Doping, Lance Armstrong

A Brief Analysis of Iranian Global Relations Part I: EU, Brazil, Russia, South Africa

April 12, 2012 by Emily Leave a Comment

America’s recent responses to Iran’s nuclear program have stirred debate in the international community. Some condone America’s struggle with the Islamic Republic by supporting sanctions and oil embargoes; others denounce American imperialism and refuse to support sanctions. The European Union countries and, surprisingly, the previously Iran-backing countries of Brazil and South Africa, belong to the first group that condemns Iran’s nuclear program. In an April 6, 2012 Al Arabiya article, “Iran’s Moment of Truth,” Hassan Barari discussed … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, economy, EU, Europe, foreign policy, Greece, human rights violations, Iran, Latin America, Mexico, nuclear, oil, Russia, sanctions, security, South Africa, trade

Discrimination and stigma in healthcare for gay and bisexual men in parts of Africa

February 17, 2012 by Tiffany 2 Comments

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8008170.stm

By Billy Tsang Much of Africa’s leadership has and continues to see HIV as a heterosexual epidemic. This is not surprising, as most of Africa still deems homosexuality as illegal and punishable by law. Lane (2008) expresses that even in post-apartheid South Africa, the “only African nation with legal guarantees of equal rights for gay and lesbian citizens and highly visible gay and lesbian communities”, there has been little attention given to the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM). Academic literature has widely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Sex and Justice Tagged With: Africa, AIDS, discrimination, Gay RIghts, healthcare, HIV, HIV/AIDS, Homophobia, Men, MSM, Research, Sexuality, Social, Stigma

Foreign assistance and anti-gay sentiments in Africa

December 14, 2011 by Krystle Corpuz Leave a Comment

The United States has taken drastic steps to emphasize its views against Malawi’s homosexuality ban. The uproar has gone so far that the United States and Britain have begun to consider and begin withdrawing their aid in protest against Malawi’s persecution and discrimination against the LGBTQ communities. Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton have been vocal in their opinion of Malawi’s anti-gay policies and have encouraged other donors to consider LGBTQ rights in their future aid allocation for developing countries. Moreover, several other African … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Sex and Justice Tagged With: Africa, Homosexuality, US foreign aid

HIV/AIDS: Key points from a study on men who have sex with men and injection drug-use in Tanzania

November 30, 2011 by William Tsang Leave a Comment

Hi again, this is Billy Tsang writing about HIV/AIDS in Africa. In recognition of the upcoming World AIDS Day, I ask you to consider the power that research and advocacy has in advancing innovative methods to combat HIV/AIDS. Article Title: HIV risk and the overlap of injecting drug use and high-risk sexual behaviours among men who have sex with men in Zanzibar (Unguja), Tanzania by Johnston LG, et al. (2010). Background: Much of the past research on HIV prevalence and sexual risk behaviors in Africa has focused on heterosexual populations. In … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Sex and Justice Tagged With: Africa, HIV/AIDS, Injection drug use, Research, sexual health, World AIDS Day

Misplaced morality and the women of Uwanja wa Fisi

October 31, 2011 by Cory Rodgers 4 Comments

Hamza and his friend cracked jokes as we walked through the Tandale slums, but their laughs were stifled as we reached Uwanja wa Fisi. They persisted in their banter to lighten the mood, sometimes teasing me because wazungu (white people) like me don't frequent this area for business; most male foreigners seek the company of women in the upscale hotels in Dar es Salaam's beachside areas. However, as we turned a corner and proceeded down a series of thin alleys, it became evident that they shared my discomfort. The cement walls were lined with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Sex and Justice Tagged With: Africa, global health, HIV/AIDS

Gender-Based Violence and its Patriarchal Roots: Case in Kenya

October 30, 2011 by Samia Taoulost 3 Comments

We hear of the atrocities committed in Uganda, Darfur and Somalia but very little about Kenya; except perhaps that it is in a better shape than most of its African neighbors. That changed when in May 13, Huffington Post published its article about “Beading,” stunning readers with its graphic details of the sinister cultural tradition practiced by Kenya’s Samburu tribe. Through this practice, girls as young as six are engaged to a male relative and are allowed to have sexual relations. Pregnancy is not allowed as members of the tribe firmly believe … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Sex and Justice Tagged With: Africa, FGM, Kenya

Exploring HIV/AIDS in Africa: Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana

October 27, 2011 by William Tsang Leave a Comment

I’ve recently gotten interested in HIV/AIDS in Africa, and decided to investigate some current studies on HIV prevalence, culture, and risk prevention. The following are summaries of two articles that look at Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana, as well as my take on what they mean to research on these issues more broadly. To start, it’s important to highlight the difficulty many researchers have had in conducting studies on HIV/AIDS. This is largely due to the fact that homosexuality is illegal in many parts of Africa. As you read about these, tell … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Sex and Justice Tagged With: Africa, HIV, HIV/AIDS, Issue Analyst, sexual and reproductive health, sexual health

You can (and should) Feed the Future of East Africa

July 22, 2011 by Rachel Merker Leave a Comment

Right now, there are a billion chronically hungry people in the world. That means that every day, close to one in seven individuals goes without enough food. Often, those are the same people who live in extreme poverty, making less than $1 a day and lacking access to basic resources like clean water, electricity and health and sanitation services. My guess is that these statistics aren't news to you. We're bombarded with images and stories about hunger and its devastating consequences. We see pictures of the 3.5 million children who die from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Climate Change, Featured Less, Hunger Tagged With: Africa, aid, food security, humanitarian aid, hunger, Hunger, sustainable development, USAID, war

The 10 million faces of climate change: drought and hunger in East Africa

July 15, 2011 by Rachel Merker 2 Comments

With the Horn of Africa suffering the worst current food crisis in the world after one of the most severe droughts it’s seen in decades, the grave threat that climate change and all its unpredictability poses should be clearer than ever. So why aren’t we doing anything about it? Climate Change is a real and urgent global challenge, and its harmful effects are already visible across the world, from increased global temperatures, more frequent and extreme weather events, melting glaciers and rising sea level. These shifts, whose extent and timeline … [Read more...]