[afro-nets] Are traditional healers characterized fairly?

[Edward C. Green <EGreendc@aol.com>]

Are traditional healers characterized fairly?
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Dear AFRO-NETS

the article below on AIDS in Gabon was not posted on AFRO-NETS
(to my knowledge), but it should be of interest. How often have
we heard this comment, taken from the article below?:

"The traditional healers do a great deal of damage because some-
times they urge those who are ill to have sex with a virgin to
make the disease disappear," said Pierre Andre-Kombila, the di-
rector general of the Ministry of Health.

Yes, this belief exists, but what actual evidence do we have (as
distinct from anecdotes) that traditional healers actually urge
clients to engage in this behavior? I do not take newspaper sto-
ries to be evidence. I would like to hear from those who, like
myself, have done in-depth research with African healers. Have
you come across healers advocating sex with virgins?

Edward C. Green
mailto:EGreendc@aol.com


--
GABON: Youth is more afraid of unemployment than AIDS

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the
United Nations]

LIBREVILLE, 17 February (IRIN) - In Gabon, where government
spending is falling and unemployment is growing as the oil
starts to run out, young people are more worried about getting a
job than catching AIDS.

That doesn't help efforts to fight the disease in this rela-
tively affluent country of 1.2 million people where 6.0 percent
of the population is HIV positive.

President Omar Bongo, Africa's longest serving head of state,
has declared the fight against AIDS to be a "national priority."

But the first outpatient treatment centre for people living with
AIDS was only established in Libreville in 2001, antiretroviral
drugs are difficult to obtain and there is a widespread view
that government efforts to combat the pandemic are hampered by
rampant corruption.

A recent survey of 15 to 26 year-olds carried out for the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), showed that unemployment was
their main concern in life, with catching AIDS in second place
and poverty in third.

Slightly more encouraging was a survey of 4,500 secondary school
pupils conducted by the government's National Plan for the Fight
against AIDS (PNLS) in May 2003. This showed that 55 percent of
boys had used condoms in their first sexual encounter compared
to just 45 percent a year earlier.

According to the French Red Cross, the HIV prevalence rate in
Gabon rose from 2.2 percent of the population in 1989, when oil
production and government revenues were still rising comforta-
bly, to 6.0 percent in 2003, when oil production was in free-
fall as offshore reserves dried up. Government spending has been
cut accordingly so roads have been left unrepaired and spending
on education and health has fallen.

In Libreville, a port town of 700,000 people surrounded by slums
which now holds more than half of Gabon's small population, the
HIV prevalence rate of 7.8 percent is well above the national
average.

The government finally reacted to the spread of AIDS by setting
up a one billion CFA (US$ 20 million) solidarity fund last year
to help people with living with AIDS and prevent the disease
from spreading.

But both the PNLS and the solidarity fund have been widely
criticised for failing to use the money at their disposal effec-
tively.

"Although it should be encouraged, the government programme to
fight AIDS has been marred in recent years by the corruption of
certain administrators who have used the funds for their own
ends and everybody knows this," said Brother Hubert Guerineau, a
leading member of the local AIDS activist group Solidarity of
Young Christians.

Another problem is that many people living with AIDS cannot af-
ford treatment at local hospitals, some of which make quite
plain that AIDS patients are not welcome.

They therefore seek treatment from witchdoctors and practitio-
ners of traditional African medicine, whose recommendations fre-
quently clash with those of scientific medicine.

"The traditional healers do a great deal of damage because some-
times they urge those who are ill to have sex with a virgin to
make the disease disappear," said Pierre Andre-Kombila, the di-
rector general of the Ministry of Health.

The fact that many parents are reluctant to discuss sexual is-
sues with their children doesn't help either.

The PNLS survey conducted last year concluded that "The guidance
given by parents has failed to keep pace with changes in social
behaviour, particularly in polygamous families and single parent
families."

"It is difficult to talk about sex education with our parents at
home. It is a taboo subject," Sandra Bidouma, a university stu-
dent told IRIN. "At the age of 22, my sexual education has been
carried out in the streets, at university and in the homes of
other families."

The PNLS survey said that sexual education tended to be carried
out most effectively in households where one member of the fam-
ily was already living with AIDS.

Condoms are widely available, but they are relatively expensive
and often unreliable as a result of deterioration during stor-
age.

The influential Roman Catholic Church, while active in the fight
against AIDS, steadfastly preaches abstinence before marriage.
"The Church favours dialogue above all else," said Father Jose
Maria, a man who works with street children. "We tell young peo-
ple about the dangers they face if they have sex in an uncon-
trolled manner."

Brother Hubert of Solidarity of Young Christians put it even
more strongly. "In my view contraceptives should not be distrib-
uted because they just encourage young people who have not yet
had a sexual experience to try it," he said. "Furthermore, the
contraceptives are often of poor quality," he added.

However, the reality is that most Gabonese teenagers have their
first sexual encounter between the ages of 12 and 14 and teenage
pregnancies are common.

Meanwhile the state is faced with the challenge of looking after
an estimated 9,000 orphans of people who have died from AIDS.

Mbouty Ikapi, a senior official in the Ministry of Family Af-
fairs, told IRIN that government policy was to encourage ex-
tended families to take these children under their wing.

The creation of orphanages was too costly an undertaking for the
government and would only lead to children being brought up in
an institutional rather than a family atmosphere, he added.

Ikapi said his ministry projected that the number of AIDS or-
phans in Gabon would increase to 14,000 by 2010 unless people
changed their sexual behaviour.

[ENDS]

IRIN-WA
Tel: +225-22-40-4440
Fax: +225-22-41-9339
Email: IRIN-WA@irin.ci

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