Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jul 2007
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Geeta Rao Gupta

FIGHTING THE STIGMA OF AIDS

First lady Laura Bush rightly pointed out in the June 25 news story 
"Beyond Iraq: The First Lady, Back in Africa" that the stigma 
attached to having AIDS is an enormous barrier to fighting Africa's 
pandemic. Stigma and discrimination reduce the effectiveness of 
billions of dollars spent on HIV/AIDS programs because infected 
people are often reluctant to avail themselves of these services.

Until recently, the global health community and development workers 
lacked a concrete set of tools to effectively identify and tackle 
stigma. To address this, the International Center for Research on 
Women, the Academy for Educational Development and our partners 
developed a tool kit, based on stigma research in Ethiopia, Tanzania 
and Zambia, that offers strategies and practical skills -- from the 
perspective of the "stigmatizer" and the "stigmatized" -- for 
HIV-affected communities, health-care providers and local media to 
reverse the devastating effect that the stigma has on people infected 
with and affected by HIV and AIDS. T

If U.S. and other world leaders want HIV/AIDS programs to be 
effective, more resources and interventions must be put in place to 
combat the stigma. These efforts will go a long way in battling AIDS.

Geeta Rao Gupta

President

International Center for Research on Women

Washington ns