NPR’s ‘Morning Edition’ Reports on Study of Reduced HIV Prevalence in Uganda
NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday reported on a study published in the April 30 issue of the journal Science that found HIV prevalence in Uganda has dropped 70% since the early 1990s primarily because of a public HIV/AIDS prevention campaign that includes "a warning spread by word of mouth through social networks" encouraging people to avoid "risky" sexual activity (Wilson, "Morning Edition," NPR, 5/4). Drs. Rand Stoneburner and Daniel Low-Beer of University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom analyzed population-level HIV and behavioral data from Uganda and neighboring countries -- including Kenya, Malawi and Zambia -- and found that important behavioral changes occurred among the Ugandan population between 1989 and 1995, including an increase in the age of first sexual intercourse, a decrease in indicators of casual or nonregular sexual partners and an increase in condom use with both casual and regular sexual partners. The study suggests that a reduction in the number of sexual partners in the general population and a delay in onset of sexual activity among unmarried youth, especially in urban areas and among males, are the most important factors in reducing HIV incidence (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/30). The NPR segment includes comments from Stoneburner; Dr. Tom Coates, professor of infectious diseases at University of California-Los Angeles Medical School; and an HIV-positive Ugandan woman who educates her family and friends about HIV/AIDS prevention ("Morning Edition," NPR, 5/4). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
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