Participating at the World Cup in South Africa, HIV/AIDS awareness groups will be located at health centers where condoms and other sex education materials will be available. Originally, however, these South African AIDS organization asked to dispense the condoms and goods at the stadiums, according to VOA News. FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, refuses to let these groups into the stadiums and has isolated them to the health centers that will be located with other vendors.
Rhulani Lehloka, communications manager for the AIDS Consortium in Braamfontein, told VOA News that, “The (HIV) prevalence rate in our country is the highest in the world. And we have the interests of the visitors at heart, but we’re also having the interests of the people of South Africa at heart.” All of the groups consider the passing out of condoms to be a “holistic” approach to HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2008, the latest solid statistics, approximately 33.4 million people are currently living with HIV, 2.7 million of which were newly infected in 2008. Deaths in 2008 alone attributed to AIDS/HIV, was around 2 million people worldwide.
While the yearly number of people infected with HIV is decreasing, and has by almost 1 million in the last 10 years, transmission is still easy on continents like Africa where socioeconomics, poor health access and malnutrition all play an underlying role in the transmission of HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of AIDS is not lowering in Africa, but is rising. Of the 33.4 million living with AIDS, about 23 million of those live in Africa. As of 2009, in South Africa, 16.9 percent of the population is living with AIDS, the fifth highest percentage in all of Africa (Swaziland, 25.9 percent; Botswana, 25 percent; Lesotho, 23.4 percent; and Zimbabwe, 19.1 percent). Apparently, FIFA needs HIV awareness, and should allow these groups to distribute condoms and information. What is the harm?
