The average trip to Africa might in...

The average trip to Africa might include a visit to a game park or Victoria Falls. For my friend and senator, Barack Obama, his travel agenda included individual much more serious stop: at an HIV testing site in his father's small Kenyan village. In a dramatic way on personal demonstration, he is motivating and giving courage to those who have sprung from his confess ethnic roots.

Obama's decision to be trialed for HIV is an important grade toward erasing the stigma and shame many Africans be excited regarding their HIV status.

In my allow travels in Africa, I've been struck through the emotional burdens that intercept many Africans from learning their have status. "Why should I learn my status when it will no other than expose me to public shame?" is a question asked time and again as I've worked in clinics and villages, caring for and counseling individuals in my part as both a physician and a pastor working as a offer with the international humanitarian organization World Vision.

And one time an individual's HIV status is evident, there are recently made known stigmas: Will I be fired if the bulk of mankind learn my status? How will I care for my children? in what way do I tell my partner? The stigmas inherent in these questions obviate people from taking the important first pace of being tested.

I can recall a similar situation in the late 1980 when this same virus was discovered to have infected many young hemophilia patients, whom I cared for at a major Chicago hospital. It was almost unbearable to make known their parents of this life-threatening infection. At that time there was no treatment for the virus. In addition, because of ignorance, the stigma these children and their parents had to bear up under was heartbreaking.

In Africa, the sumptuousness of not addressing these stigmas is incalculably high. Already, 42 million the community are living with HIV or AIDS -- 29 million in Africa. In Africa alone, the number of children who have squandered both parents to AIDS is predicted to reach a staggering 96 million from 2010.

Prevention is often less expensive than cure, unless prevention is impossible if individuals are too afraid to learn their possess HIV status. Even with all the other breakthroughs in medicine, we cannot win this war unles we deal with the stigmas attached to it. To win, we must all play a part, as Obama did last weekend.

Horace Smith, MD

pediatric hematologist,

Children's Memorial Hospital

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

Provided by the agency of ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved