New approaches, new activities and new outcomes in international conferences on HIV/AIDS in Africa--report of the 3rd African Conference on the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, Dakar, 10-14 October 2005.

Africa's HIV/AIDS situation remains cause for concern. The impact of HIV is considerable and threatens the survival and development of African societies. Although much has been attempted, the results still leave much to be desired. AIDS is an epidemic that needs to be addressed with much creativity and spirit of initiative. It is against this background that the 3rd African conference on the social aspects of HIV/AIDS brought innovations in the way international conferences are designed, activities implemented and results obtained. The innovations concerned the approach to international conferences and take into account reconceptualising HIV/AIDS so as to encourage holistic approaches and better visibility of vulnerable groups. The activities of the conference were organised in such a way as to get people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), grassroots communities and marginalised groups to play a focal role. The conference offered an opportunity for developing cultural activities that would translate the African cultural concepts that had been identified as important in the HIV situation and response analysis. Interaction at the conference created an opportunity to analyse the various dimensions of the political, cultural and economic determinants. The conference offered food for thought around response construction while singling out the themes of urgency and acceleration of response, synergy construction, and coordination and conception of political responses.

Traditional women's associations as channels for HIV / AIDS / STD prevention.

PIP: Women of the Laobe ethnic group and the Dimba, a traditional women's association, provide advice about sexuality and reproductive health in southern Senegal. Research was initiated in October 1992 by the Cheikh Anta Diop University to determine whether these women could also help in HIV/AIDS and STD prevention activities. The study investigated men's and women's knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABP) related to sexuality and HIV/AIDS/STDs in the community of Kolda; practices potentially increasing women's risk of HIV/STD infection; and possibilities for integrating HIV/STD prevention messages into the interactions which take place between the Laobe and Dimba groups and the Kolda community. The KABP study was a questionnaire administered to 250 men and 250 women of reproductive age representing five ethnic groups residing in Kolda. 11 men and 14 women older than age 40 participated in in-depth sexual life history interviews. The survey and interviews indicate that people in Kolda do not generally see a link between sexual relations and STD transmission. Instead, STDs are attributed to behaviors such as urinating, walking barefoot on the urine of an already-infected person, encountering a "bad wind", and being cursed. Women may be at increased risk of HIV infection through practices designed to enhance sexual pleasure, including the insertion of organic and mineral product into the vagina, and the cutting of bumps and warts in and around the vagina. Sexual practices, knowledge, prevention through the Laobe and Dimba, and outcome and follow-up are discussed.^ieng

Satisfaire les besoins de sante des hommes qui ont des rapports sexuels avec d'autres hommes au Senegal

Ce document presente les resultats d'une etude sur les hommes qui ont des rapports sexuels avec d'autres hommes (MSM) au Senegal.La sexualite des MSM; leur vulnerabilite aux IST/VIH; le role de la violence et du stigmate ainsi que le manque de services de sante sexuelle et d'information disponible pour couvrir leurs besoins specifiques; y sont decrit