High Occurrence in Africa of HIV among Homosexual Men Study Finds

via LifeSiteNews.com, by Patrick B. Craine

A new literature review, published by The Lancet, emphasizes the great proportion of HIV/AIDS cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub-Saharan Africa, a fact often ignored in the fight against AIDS in Africa. The study concludes, however, that the solution to the problem lies in greater openness to homosexual practices from the African nations and better access to interventions, a solution that experts from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) have called "simplistic."

The review, principally authored by Dr. Adrian D. Smith of the University of Oxford, calls for greater acceptance of MSM in sub-Saharan Africa, where the cultures are still mostly unwilling to accept homosexuality and the homosexualist agenda.

"Continued denial of MSM from effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care," they say, "is harmful to national HIV/AIDS responses." According to the review, male-to-male sex is illegal in 31 sub-Saharan countries, with the death penalty a possible punishment in four of them.

There is a need, say the researchers, for increased recognition of the HIV problem among MSM, which has been overlooked in sub-Saharan Africa. "Globally, [MSM] continue to bear a high burden of HIV infection," they write.

The initial research conducted in the early 1980s focused on heterosexual transmission, observe the researchers, suggesting that these findings have skewed the approach ever since. The result was that "the possibility that MSM might feature within this model [of HIV infection in Africa] soon disappeared from discussion."

Previous reports have also indicated that the idea that AIDS is primarily being transmitted through heterosexual relations in Africa may not have a firm basis in fact.

In 2003 a study authored by Dr. Stuart Brody found that anal sex, both homosexual and heterosexual, is the second greatest cause of HIV transmission in Africa. Poor medical practices, such as the use of dirty needles, were found to be the greatest cause, with vaginal transmission being a distant third cause.

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