So I know that a lot of you are super excited for my time in Africa, but are not entirely sure what I am going to be doing. To be honest, until this past week I really didn't know either. So hopefully this blog post will give you a little bit more knowledge about HIV, GRS, and my trip overall! Another post to follow soon about some personal experiences
Why is HIV so prevalent in Africa?
Why is HIV so prevalent in Africa?
Concurrent relationships (relationships with
multiple partners at the same time)
o
Transactional sex (sugar daddies, and older
partners)
o
Stigma
o
Multiple myths, gaps in knowledge
§
Eg. An older male having sex with a virgin rids
them of HIV
§
Eg. Washing after sex prevents HIV
o
Traditions around sex, in Africa individuals
usually have sex at an earlier age
o
Rape
o
Lack of Government involvement
·
Why even more so in sub-saharan Africa?
o
Alcohol abuse
o
Age disparate sex, older partners (5+ years
older)
o
Unprotected sex is so high
o
Knowledge is actually quite high, however
behavior change is hard
·
Hit them with the stats!
o
33 million people in this world have HIV 67%
(2/3rd) are in Africa
o
South Africa
§
5.6 million infected (1 out of 6 adults) (1 out
of 3 in impoverished areas)
§
Largest
HIV population in the world
§
>1000 new cases of HIV everday
·
What are the four ways that HIV is transmitted?
o
Blood
o
Semen
o
Breast milk
o
Vaginal Fluid
·
Lets get the facts straight
o
You are most infectious with HIV in the 1st
6-8 weeks that you have the virus. You are 40x likely to spread HIV because you
have a lower viral load.
o
Serial monogamy (having only one partner)-much
higher in the west. Interestingly enough we have the same amount of sexual
partners in the western world over the course of our lifetime as in Africa, but
they are all at different times (not concurrent relationships). So there is a
myth that Africans have more sex than the rest of the world
o
The older your partner is the more likely you are
to contract the virus
o
Women are 3x as likely to contract HIV than men
Moving on to a closer look at Grassroot Soccer as a whole!
·
o
Located in three main countries
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South Africa
§
Zambia
§
Zimbabwe-heart and soul of GRS
·
Why are interns no longer in Zimbabwe?
o
Political situation-work permits are hard to
come by, government wants home workers, not internationals
o
GRS is known as a new age NGO-sport for
development program
o
GRS partners with other organizations and shares
curriculum (we’re all in this together)
§
Kick4life in Lesotho
·
Most of the program is implemented in Swahili
o
GRS partners
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Nike
§
Elton John AIDS foundation
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Barclays
§
USAID
§
UNHCR-does work primarily with refugees
§
Comic relief
§
Phi360-enabling partner=helps manage funds for
other organizations including GRS
§
Exxon Mobile
§
Peace Corps
§
GIZed (german Government program, helping with
new programs in the Ukraine)
§
De Beers mining company (started GRS programs in
mining towns-Kimberely
§
MLS
§
EPL
§
Lastrol
§
Many others…
o
Intervention Types
§
Skillz
§
Generation Skillz
§
Skillz Street
§
Skillz Holiday
§
Skillz Tournaments
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