Southern Africa Mulls Roping In Prostitutes, Gays to Fight AIDS

Attendees at the recent three-day Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting in Malawi discussed how to bridge the gap between those targeted for HIV/AIDS prevention and those hit hardest by the epidemic.

"To make advances in prevention, we must begin to tackle honestly the difficult questions that the epidemic raises ... addressing positively the needs of sex workers and of men who have sex with men" said Marjorie Ngaunje, Malawi's health minister. Prevention "will take a better turn if we stop doing business as usual ... we must address the real drivers of the epidemic and target groups that are most vulnerable."

"Let's be open and start talking about prostitutes and homosexuals, because it's only South Africa among the SADC states that recognizes homosexuals," said Ngaunje during the conference. "These issues are a strange phenomenon in most countries… prostitution is not officially accepted in Malawi and other countries but the truth is that it happens and let's open up and we need to start talking about these issues."

The lack of control over sexual decision-making among youths and women, due to poverty and patriarchy, makes them especially vulnerable, said Omotayo Olaniyan, African Union regional delegate to SADC. Not targeting sex workers and drug users has allowed the epidemic to bloom, Olaniyan said. "These are the heart of the epidemic."

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