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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
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| Jan 18 2009, 1:55 PM EST | andy.shilongo | 2 words added, 1 word deleted |
| Jan 18 2009, 11:21 AM EST | Kwame2009 | 2 photos added |
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HIV/AIDSAIDS is blamed on foreigners, gay men, and the devil. Last year, school children staged a demonstration in the New Juaben Municipality in which they demanded that all tourists visiting the country be forced to get an HIV test. Homosexuality itself is also blamed on foreigners, though most gay Ghanaians, if you can find them, will tell you their first experiences were with local friends, and sometimes relatives. When the devil is seen as the cause of AIDS, God is seen as the solution. A significant amount of gay men believe they are protected from HIV by a combination of spiritual practices and herbal medicine. Last November, Joseph Amponsah, Chairman of Hope Association of Nkoranza, an association of persons living with HIV/AIDS, went public to beg pastors to quit making HIV/AIDS patients fast for days on end because it was killing some of them. Though a number of politicians and clergymen publicly blame gay men for AIDS, the only form of transmission the government mentions in official reports is heterosexual sex. There are few, if any, HIV prevention or awareness campaigns targeting the LGBT community, even though a substantial amount of work is directed to heterosexuals. Because of the silence, a recent study found that while most gay men in Ghana knew HIV was sexually transmitted, many thought the risk was greatest with vaginal sex. As a result, they were more likely to use condoms with women than men, if they used them at all. Young men are especially at risk. If they have an older partner, they will do anything the adult says. Respect for your elders is an important part of Ghanaian culture. Besides, young men prefer older partners because they think they will get more presents or will be paid more.
Shame
When they do get sick, gay men in Ghana don't go to the hospitals for health care, especially if they might have a sexually transmitted disease. One reason is that hospitals will not treat you unless you come in with your sex partner. Gay men who can't afford a private doctor rely on over the counter drugs, or go to herbalists. Some have died of treatable STD's because they were too embarrassed to see a doctor. Talking about HIV is almost impossible here. Since we are considered criminals, where can we feel safe getting tested? Even if there were health services specifically for gay men, many say they would be afraid to use them. To those of us that struggle with self-hate, HIV seems like one more blow. If you tell a sick person to get tested, they get very angry at you and call you names like the devil and Satan. AIDS in Ghana is terrible even before death. Besides despair and illness, it can bring terrible poverty. We lose our incomes when we become ill. Already ostracised by our families, the only people we can rely on are our friends. You can contact the newly formed Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana at gaytourghana@yahoo.com or popeducation@zwallet.com.
source: the Gully
Some common misconceptions about HIV/AIDS:HIV/AIDS:
In relation to HIV/AIDS the term MSM is often mentioned. MSM stands for Men having Sex with Men. Some think that is the same as "gay". It is not. MSM comprise of all men who have sex with men, being gays, bisexuals, experimenting adolecents, raped men, men having sex with men because of absence of women (prisoners, sailors or uniformed services like police or military), heterosexual male prostitutes etc.
Misconception 1: Some believe that you don't get HIV from anal sex; that it is only easily tranmitted inside a vagina. Wrong! The risk of HIV infection is the highest with unprotected anal sex; higher even than with vaginal sex.
Misconception 2: Some think you are less likely to get infected with HIV if you are circumsized. True in a way; if you are circumsized you have a considerable lower risk, but yet the risk is way too high. If an uncircumsized barebacker is playing russian roulette with two bullits in the barrel, the circusized person is playing with at least one bullit. The risk is unacceptable, still.
Misconception 3: If someone is fat and looks healthy he will not have HIV. Wrong! On the avarage an HIV infected person will not show any symptoms in the first 7 years. If he does not get tested he may even not know he is infected. All looks well.
Misconception 4: HIV is mostly an African problem, having sex with obroni is therefore safe as opposed to having sex with an African. Wrong: The avarage HIV infection rate is higher in the Gay community (also abroad) than among heterosexuals. It is about opportunity. e.g. in Southern Africa the infection rate among white inhabitants is as high or higher than among the black population. It is about opportunity: as the whites avaragely have more money they are attractive sex partners to many and therefore they have access to a large number of sex partners. And the HIV rate among gays in Europe and US is on the rise again.
Misconception 5: With ARV drugs HIV is now a treateble disease, like any chronical disease. Well in a way it is true, but mind: it is still not curable. Not all People Living With HIV/AIDS
tollerate the medicine. And people taking ARVs are still contageous to others (although their viral load will be lower) and their chance to die of an infection is 5 times as high as for not infected people. And it is still not known how long life is elongated by the use of ARVs.
Misconception 6: Oral sex is safe. Wrong! Although the risk with oral sex is much lower, especially if you dont get the cum in you mouth, there is still a chance of infection. And as with any calculations on chance, the risk duplicates every time you do it. So if you do it often, the risk gets very real. Also the risk is higher if the person you are sucking has a higher viral load. Since you dont know or cant see how high a persons viral load is, you shouls be very carefull. It is true that people who are taking ARV have a lower viral load and are therefore less contageous, But less is not safe.
Although research has not been done yet in Ghana (because the topic is so taboo) it is safe to assume that the HIV infection rate in Ghana among homosexuals is much higher, probably several times higher, than among heterosexuals. If the rate among heteros is around 3% average, the rate among MSM may well be over 25%.
So always be careful: use a rubber...!!!!
Having said that, of course there is no need at all to become paranoia about friends who are HIV-positive. If you have a partner who is HIV-positive you can still have sex. As long as you are aware of the risks and practice safe sex and protect yourself with a good condom it is OK.
interesting links:
http://www.thegully.com/essays/gaymundo/0403_gay-men_hiv_ghana/msm_ghana_intro_summary.html
