HIV in insurgency forces in sub-Saharan Africa - a personal view of policies.
The special requirements for HIV-prevention programmes by armed forces or insurgency groups in very poor countries that are in active conflict have not been well described. Customary military programme components include: education on sexually transmitted diseases, condom distribution, and HIV testing. Programmes for these armed forces must address: a command structure that may not prioritize this activity, severe resource and logistical constraints, weak health systems for treating sexually transmitted illness, beliefs in traditional medicines for symptoms of sexually transmitted illness, illiteracy that diminishes the utility of educational pamphlets, rape and sexual bartering by soldiers, battlefield transfusions, tattooing and the co-epidemic of tuberculosis.
Miles
Steven H
SH
Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota, N504 Boynton Hall, 410 Church Street, Minneapolis MN 55455, USA. miles001@umn.edu
D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006295:Health Resources; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014944:World Health Organization