This year I went to our region's World AIDS Day in a tiny village in the middle of the Tuli Block with three other Peace Corps volunteers. The Tuli Block is a wonderful game reserve full of elephants, giraffes, and countless other animals. I'm sure you can imagine how excited we were that our regional World AIDS Day was going to be there.
The village was beautiful and we couldn't resist going for a hike after we had set up our tents next to the clinic. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any elephants, but there were monkeys and baboons and some antelope running around. The view of the sunset was breathtaking.
A baboon skull along the path
The next morning we got up early to attend the commemoration events. There were many speeches, a candlelight vigil, drama group skits, a lovely choir, and a poet. One day I will have strong enough internet to share some videos of Batswana singing and dancing, but until then this unsatisfying little photo will have to do:
The Poet
We set up some posters explaining what Peace Corps does and shared information about HIV/AIDS in Botswana while passing out red ribbons.
After the ceremony, the attendees stopped by our booth and we quizzed them on their knowledge of HIV.
In honour of World AIDS Day, here's information about a potential, new "super condom" that could have a major impact in the fight against HIV:
"The anti-oxidant [in the condom] will enhance neurotransmitters which will work with nerve endings, giving greater sexual pleasure.
"If the HIV virus gets into the product, the condom will block it, prevent it replicating, and prevent entry [from the body]."
If this condom is effective and becomes widely available (and cheap) in the coming years, it could completely change public health initiatives and the struggle against HIV. The most common reason people opt out of using condoms is because they don't like the way it feels. If this condom actually increases sexual pleasure, people would be interested in using them for more than protecting their health or preventing pregnancy. Behaviour change is probably one of the hardest aspects of public health, so if you could change a product instead trying to change the way people feel about a product, HIV prevention would have a huge victory.
If you're interested in learning more about HIV/AIDS, I strongly recommend the book The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS by Elizabeth Pisani. Unfortunately the book doesn't delve too much into the HIV situation in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it's still a fascinating and engaging read. Pisani writes with brutal and oftentimes hilarious honesty.
And finally, here is video the Peace Corps made of an interview with former President Festus Mogae of Botswana. I had the opportunity to hear President Mogae speak at our All-Volunteer conference this year and he was incredibly inspiring.
PCVs with the former president
Here's the link to the article I referenced in this post: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-supercondom-will-fight-hiv-and-increase-sexual-pleasure-scientists-claim-a6778746.html
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