European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 3, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Aids out of control in Africa by Barry Renfrew the associated press aids is sweeping across Africa Imp riling millions of lives on a continent that can do Little but helplessly watch the looming devastation in some african cities up to one third of the men and women May be infected with the aids virus up to 10 million children could be orphaned by aids by the year 2000 South Africa estimates up to one in three of its 40 million people May be infected by the year 2010. Quot aids is winning Quot said or. Kevin de cock head of an aids program in the Ivory coast scientists cite numerous reasons for the aids plague in Africa including sexual promiscuity poor medical services the subservient role of women War and famine. Some health workers say africans Aren t being varned about aids others say sexual habits Are hard to change prostitutes a major source of aids say customers refuse to use condoms As Protection Quot men Quot said Mavis a Young prostitute in Zambia won t pay for sex if we put that on so what must i do a die of hunger anyway7&Quot some Blacks in South Africa even see the virus As a plot by Whites to preserve apartheid by persuading Blacks to use condoms thus reducing the pregnancy rate in the Black population. The world health organization reports 92,457 aids cases in Africa but estimates 7 million africans have his the virus that causes the disease. Sixty percent of the world s estimated aids cases Are in Africa which has 12 percent of the world population. Aids in Africa is primarily transmitted heterosexually or from Mother to child. As Many women Are infected As men in Western nations aids has mainly hit homosexuals and intravenous drug users although heterosexual transmission is rising Quot it is catastrophic. Eighty percent of the women in the world that Are seropositive with the aids virus live in Africa Quot said or Mark Ottenweller an aids worker in the Ivory coast. Statistics on aids in Africa do not reflect the True spread of the disease health workers say a dire Lack of medical facilities due to the poverty in much of the continent Means Only a fraction of cases Are detected they say South Africa just starting to be affected by the aids plague is probably the Only african country with the scientific resources to project the extent of the problem. Still Quot aids May constitute a major threat to economic growth and political stability in South Africa by the turn of the Century Quot warned the Institute of race relations a private think tank Turkina faso one of the world s poorest nations said several years ago it would make no plans to identify aids victims because it could do nothing for them. Uganda has one of the Best most open aids control programs in Africa. Placards urging Safe sex Are found everywhere and condoms Are distributed freely. Nevertheless it is one of the worst hit nations. Some villages have lost almost half their populations to aids often leaving just the old and the Young. Quot there s not much we can do Quot said or Warren Namara head of Uganda a aids control program. Or Justine Agness of the Center for a health worker Taka blood for an aids Survey in Uganda where the Diana a Haa been found in every District of the country. Aids in Africa infectious diseases at Abidjan s University Hospital said sexual habits do not appear to be changing despite aids. Quot we find that the people who come to the Center have often been with prostitutes. But despite the knowledge of the dangers it does no to appear that behaviour is changing Quot she said. Women have a Low status in Many african societies and often Are subservient to men making it difficult for them to insist that partners use Safe sex techniques or abstain from other relationships. The spread of aids has been hastened in Africa by War and famine doctors say the havoc caused by civil wars in Uganda Angola and Mozambique helped spread aids As society broke Down. Quot one cannot but note How often in Africa aids appears to feed on War and civil strife Quot said . Johnson a South african writer on aids the economies of Many african nations already poor face wrenching damage As aids primarily strikes Down men and women in the prime of life who Are the main breadwinners. There Are 92,457 aids cases in Africa according to the world health organization and an estimated 7 million africans with his. Africa has 12% of the world s population. But an estimated 60% of the worlds aids cases. One in three South africans could be infected with the aids virus in the next 20 years with up to 6 million aids deaths by 2010. Source world health organization spreaders action unsaleable items should be donated Why does cafes throw away thousands of dollars Worth of shoes clothing and other surplus items and even Day old bread when we live in a country which has such a great need and they could give it out to the needy9 last month i witnessed them throwing away Brand new shoes they had sliced them so others could t use them. What a sad waste Roxane Dut Achi Karrberg Germany a sgt. Maj. Michel j. Bolduc he cafes Europe replies cafes sincerely wants to donate unsaleable items rather than destroy them. Our policy is to offer this merchandise to the local chaplain. Army morale support officer or air Force chief of mar. Sometimes we fail to follow our own policy and the incident you described was indeed a sad waste. The we Brucken general manager has already taken Steps to ensure that it does not happen again. Although we attempt to donate unsaleable merchandise sometimes the items Are refused in these instances we destroy the merchandise to ensure that the items Aren t returned to the store Tor a refund or  write us headers action line is the readers a court of last resort striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and done to know where to turn for the answer wite to readers action line co the stars and stripes Apoate 09211. All letters must be signed and preference will be to our Madero seeking information of general interest Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday december 3, 1991