BMJ  2004;329:573 (4 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7465.573-a

Letter

Stigma of AIDS needs to be overcome

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—With reference to the editorial by Ruger, combating HIV-AIDS in industrialising countries requires improving the conditions under which people are free to choose safer life strategies and conditions for themselves and future generations.1

Sexually transmitted infections have always been imbued with stigma because of their association with behaviours considered deviant or immoral.2 Drug use should be treated as a public health issue, not a criminal one. Despite a dearth of research on the topic, it is increasingly acknowledged that effective prevention and treatment strategies require an understanding of cultural frameworks, including stigmatisation.3

Many groups whose behaviour puts them at high risk for contracting HIV infection, such as men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers, and injecting drug users, are stigmatised and abused, and in some cases their behaviour is criminalised.4

Many countries with successful HIV policies and programmes do not implement effective HIV prevention policies and . . . [Full text of this article]

Ediriweera B R Desapriya, research associate

Department of Paediatrics, University of British Columbia, Centre for Community Child Health Research, 4480 Oak Street, L 408, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3V4 edesap@cw.bc.ca


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Combating HIV/AIDS in developing countries
Jennifer Prah Ruger
BMJ 2004 329: 121-122. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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