Disastrous consequences

Disastrous consequences


Updated 00:12am (Mla time) Jan 18, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page A11 of the January 18, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.


IT WAS a most touching portrait, that of former South African President Nelson Mandela, his wife Graca Machel and grandson at the memorial service for Mandela's son Makgatho.

Mandela had earlier revealed that Makgatho, his son by his first wife Evelyn, died as a result of AIDS. The announcement was regarded by many as an act of supreme courage, as it broke "one of the most stubborn African taboos surrounding the pandemic."

While HIV/AIDS affects an estimated one in nine South Africans, more people than in any other nation, there's still a lot of denial and superstition surrounding the disease. Publicly admitting his son's disease, and thereby defying the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS, Mandela not only added a personal dimension to the discussion of the disease, he also raised its public profile and proved it could affect members of even the "best" families.

Shame and stigma attached to AIDS have served to drive the disease underground, with people living with HIV/AIDS forced to conceal their condition for fear of being abandoned by their families, losing their jobs or shunned by their friends. By coming out in public with his son's HIV status before his death, Mandela has served to lift some of the veil of secrecy surrounding AIDS, and perhaps hasten the world's response to the pandemic.

Mandela had long been an outspoken advocate of AIDS awareness, long before he even knew about Makgatho's illness, he clarified, and even while South African officials were still in denial about the disease.

Ironically, one of the consequences of the tsunami disaster, which has provoked a global outpouring of aid and assistance to the affected countries, is a feared reduction in international commitments to fighting AIDS. World leaders should not lose their focus on AIDS. For while the tsunami may have killed more than 150,000 people, HIV/AIDS continues to kill thousands around the world every day, "equivalent to a tsunami every two weeks," an official of UNAIDS said.

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AMONG THE MORE than 100,000 victims of the tsunami disaster, women and girls face problems specific to their gender, a United Nations study reveals.

The tsunami may have made no distinction between men and women, but it has produced "some very gender-specific after-shocks," the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said recently. These range from women's traditional role in caring for the sick to increased cases of rape and abuse, some of which are taking place even in evacuation centers.

The FAO report said understanding and measuring the differences in needs between men and women tsunami victims is "essential for an effective response," stressing the need to raise awareness on gender issues among decision- and policy-makers "to ensure that women's and men's different needs are reflected in policies, practices and resources through the phases of relief, rehabilitation and development."

The burden on women may have increased due to the high number of people injured or who become ill as epidemics develop, FAO said, noting that due to the traditional division of labor in households in the tsunami-hit areas, women are expected to take care of the sick and injured members of the family. They also have the responsibility to fetch water and may now need to increase the amount of time dedicated to collecting both drinking water and fresh water for agriculture crops.

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THEN there's the matter of sexual violence, with the number of reported sexual assaults of women and girls rising, especially in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, two of the hardest-hit areas. Fear of sexual violence will affect the lives and chances of survival of women and girl survivors long after the crisis has passed, since it has been found to limit women's and girls' mobility, for example in search of new economic opportunities, FAO added.

"Likewise, this fear is behind their reluctance to moving into camps where they could have access to food. Women and children are often the most vulnerable because of their lower socio-economic standing, in terms of limited access to necessary resources. They lack influence due to inequality and disempowerment, and have often less decision-making power and control over their lives," it said.

Looking at longer-term needs, FAO called for the provision of credit and financial assets to both men and women according to their livelihood needs.

Differentiating between the survivors by age and sex will facilitate a sustainable response, it added, calling for the empowerment of women by recruiting them for assessments and ensuring their full representation in community groups and meetings to ensure that they play a full role in decision-making about relief.

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MEANWHILE, here's another call for a humane response to the victims of another kind of disaster, the one that befell Baguio as a result of the meningococcemia scare.

The Good Shepherd Sisters wish to inform regular patrons of their Baguio convent products, like the incomparable ube jam, strawberry preserves, breads and cookies, that these are now available at their Quezon City convent (behind St. Bridget's School along Aurora Boulevard in Cubao). Extremely popular among Baguio residents and visitors alike, such that the store at peak seasons have to limit the number of bottles of ube jam sold per customer, the Good Shepherd products are more than just tasty treats. Proceeds from the sales are used to finance the studies of scholars as well as to provide employment for poor residents.

With meningococcemia driving away tourists and visitors, as well as buyers of the Good Shepherd products, the scholarship program is now in peril. Do drop by the Good Shepherd convent in Quezon City and help keep a good program going.