FIGHTING THE STIGMA OF AIDS

First lady Laura Bush rightly pointed out in the June 25 news story
"Beyond Iraq: The First Lady, Back in Africa" that the stigma
attached to having AIDS is an enormous barrier to fighting Africa's
pandemic. Stigma and discrimination reduce the effectiveness of
billions of dollars spent on HIV/AIDS programs because infected
people are often reluctant to avail themselves of these services.

Until recently, the global health community and development workers
lacked a concrete set of tools to effectively identify and tackle
stigma. To address this, the International Center for Research on
Women, the Academy for Educational Development and our partners
developed a tool kit, based on stigma research in Ethiopia, Tanzania
and Zambia, that offers strategies and practical skills -- from the
perspective of the "stigmatizer" and the "stigmatized" -- for
HIV-affected communities, health-care providers and local media to
reverse the devastating effect that the stigma has on people infected
with and affected by HIV and AIDS. T

If U.S. and other world leaders want HIV/AIDS programs to be
effective, more resources and interventions must be put in place to
combat the stigma. These efforts will go a long way in battling AIDS.

Geeta Rao Gupta

President

International Center for Research on Women

Washington ns