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AIDS hurting development, World Bank says
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Copyright ) 1997 Nando.net
Copyright ) 1997 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (November 27, 1997 07:23 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) --
AIDS is reversing the progress of many developing countries, the World
Bank says in a report that urges policy-makers to try to prevent further
spread of the disease by focusing on groups with high-risk behaviors.
Of the more than 30 million people infected with the AIDS virus
worldwide, 90 percent live in developing nations, according to figures
released Wednesday by the United Nations. The World Bank report stresses
that governments should take early action in developing countries where
full-blown epidemics have not yet occurred but where the potential
looms.
"AIDS is reversing decades of progress of improving the quality of life
in developing countries," said Martha Ainsworth, a senior economist at
the World Bank and an author of the study. "Many of these hard-won gains
are being lost."
According to the study, AIDS has trimmed years off life expectancy in
many developing countries, including Brazil, Thailand and Zimbabwe, and
has implications for the economic well-being of these nations as well.
Because developing countries must allocate their resources among a host
of pressing problems, the report recommends focusing on high-risk groups
-- such as prostitutes, intravenous drug users, male homosexuals and
bisexuals with many partners.
"These programs are sometimes politically controversial but without them
the epidemic cannot be stopped," Ainsworth said.
The study says more than half the countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean have "concentrated" epidemics, meaning that the virus has
risen above 5 percent among high-risk groups. This precedes a
"generalized" stage where HIV explodes beyond high-risk groups, as it
has in sub-Saharan Africa.
"The lessons from sub-Saharan Africa is that you need to stop it before
it reaches the general population," Ainsworth said.
Recent AIDS programs in Argentina and Brazil have attempted to strike an
early campaign through education, HIV counseling and condom
distribution.
Development leaders say that for countries with scarce resources, more
than information is needed to thwart the spread of AIDS.
"I don't believe just information is enough for prevention," said Jose
Izazola-Licea, director for AIDS Prevention and Control in Latin America
and the Caribbean. "We are talking about complex behaviors."
The report explores strategies including:
-- Lowering the costs of condom use and safe needle use.
-- Altering social norms to encourage safe sexual behavior.
-- Improving the status of women.
Alain Colliou, who works in the World Bank's AIDS project in Argentina,
said an effective strategy must bring together religious leaders,
political parties, business people and others.
"It's not sufficient to have just the public sector involved," Colliou
said. "The government has to take leadership, but a coalition of key
stake-holders is needed."
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