London’s Daily Telegraph Examines HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Kenya’s Lake Victoria Region
London's Daily Telegraph on Thursday examined HIV/AIDS in Kenya's Lake Victoria region (Pflanz, Daily Telegraph, 6/15). The region -- which depends on fishing -- has an HIV prevalence of about 30%, in part because fishermen demand sex from women wishing to purchase fish (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 3/30). In addition, the cultural practice among the Luo Tribe -- the second largest in Kenya -- of "inherit[ing]" the wives of men who die has contributed to the region's high HIV prevalence, the Telegraph reports. "Despite the ravages" of HIV/AIDS, the population around Lake Victoria has increased because of high birth rates and the migration of farmers who have lost their crops to drought and are turning to fishing, according to the Telegraph. In addition, treatment for HIV/AIDS is largely unavailable in the region. According to the Telegraph, antiretroviral drugs are "almost unheard of in the area, despite a promise from the West that every [HIV-positive person] would have treatment by 2010" (Daily Telegraph, 6/15).
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