While urban regions of West Africa have had success providing HIV/AIDS prevention messages and testing, rural areas have been largely ignored by such efforts.
Researchers at the Swiss Centre for Scientific Research have noted that while HIV prevalence is higher in cities than in the countryside, a disparity of information could help drive the epidemic in rural countries. Efforts to distribute pamphlets providing information on the virus have been largely futile due to high rates of illiteracy in areas such as Senegal, Burkina Faso and the village of Oglawpo.
Researchers are lobbying for the training of rural educators to raise awareness among farming populations, in addition to increasing the number of voluntary testing centers in the local areas.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
