November 1, 2001 Happy to Be of Help The economical recession in many African countries, including Zambia, has worsened since the 1980s, resulting in widespread poverty. These problems have had a significant impact on the increase of HIV/AIDS patients. On the other hand, attempts to find practical solutions are also underway. The NGO World Vision Zambia has chosen the town of Chirundu as its base and has constructed a community center there called "Blue House." Recognizing the validity of the project, JICA is currently working with them. Based at the community center, they secure helpers known as Peer Educators in order to increase awareness and train them in the necessary skills. The group also targets the young people of the town, including sex workers, and the truck drivers that pass through, rigorously promoting greater awareness of the threat of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS. Charlie, age 27, is one example of a Peer Educator. His father remarried when he was eight, but he did not get along with his stepmother and led a troubled childhood. He left home when he was 21, hoping to make a new life for himself in Chirundu. To eke out a living for himself, he worked as a sex worker for many years. Charlie's eyes light up as he explains his involvement with the program. "My life changed for the better when I encountered a World Vision Zambia worker, who asked, 'How can you live like this? The next time I meet you, I want you to become a Peer Educator.' After this encounter, I returned to church for the first time in many years and in my conversations with God, I made the decision to become a Peer Educator." "There's nothing praiseworthy about being a sex worker, but as a Peer Educator, people listen to you. That's the most satisfying thing." Making a difference in society, feeling needed. A sense of purpose can be used to great effect in the fight against HIV. Peer Educators use their own personal experience, working with those who suffer towards a solution. 20% of the Adult Population Infected The HIV virus, responsible for the onset of AIDS, infects the CD4 antigens, the cells central to the immune system, and destroys the cells, weakening the immune system. As a result, a whole chain of infections is set in motion, culminating in death. According to reports by UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) and WHO (World Health Organization), over 25.3 million HIV infected people occupy the African countries south of the Sahara desert and this number accounts for 70% of the world's overall number of HIV victims, currently standing at 36.1 million. What is distinctive in this sub-Sahara region is the extraordinary statistic of 55% adult female infection. UNAIDS reports suggest that women are at high risk because of the danger of infection when the hymen is torn during initial sexual intercourse. Main causes of infection include sexual intercourse with the opposite sex and mother/child infection during birth or breastfeeding. The spread of the disease is gaining momentum through these perfectly normal everyday activities. Traditions of polygamy and cultures based in free-thinking sexual attitudes are contributing to an acceleration in the spread of infection. An Alarming Number of Patients "Unfortunately, there is no AIDS medicine readily available to regular citizens in Zambia." JICA's HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Prevention Project is currently directly affiliated to the University Teaching Hospital of Zambia (UTH), supplying technical support. Leader of the project, Kotaro Oizumi, age 66, and specialist Koji Ichiyama, age 38, sigh as they explain the situation. The current population of Zambia is 10.3 million. By 1999, 650,000 had already died from AIDS. Children under 18 who were orphaned by AIDS also number 650,000. Medical aid helpers in Zambia know that in spite of the alarming number of infected, the harsh reality is that expensive AIDS vaccines are hard to come by and the monitoring of side effects and resistant virus prevention is hard to carry out. On the other hand, Zambia's central medical system, UTH, is undertaking research on the effect of certain vaccines in the prevention of mother/child infection. Instead of using the tried and tested AZT, the lesser-known Nevirapine is being applied. "Although Nevirapine is cheap in comparison to other medicines, it is easier for the body to build up resistance against it," adds Mr. Oizumi, a tuberculosis specialist. "Every year, numbers of tuberculosis patients increase by 40,000 in both Japan and Zambia. When you take the difference in population into account, the rate in Zambia is 12 times the rate of that in Japan. 70% of those suffering from tuberculosis are AIDS patients." The immune systems of HIV patients are weakened, leading to an increase in cases of tuberculosis.