This update brought to you by finals

I am reading through my notes from my gender and health course and feel compelled to share some of the thoughts and facts. I'm not including citations here (I have enough school work to do as it is!) but of course if you want to know more about how I got the info just let me know! This is a pretty random list as things strike me....

HIV
HIV prevention needs to be sex positive. HIV is caused by a virus, not by sex!

As of 2009, there were approx 33.3 million people living with HIV globally. About 67% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The prevalence (amount of people currently living with HIV) of HIV in South Africa is about 11%. 

In a state of povery and hunger, HIV prevention may not be people's priority. (And HIV can also lead to poverty, thus creating a cycle)

Gender Violence
South Africa has one of the highest rates of reported rapes in the world. Still, it's estimated that only 1 out of 20 rapes are reported (Gender Justice Research Unit).

Cervical Cancer
HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, MUST be present to have cervical cancer. In other words, 100% of women everywhere with cervical cancer have HPV. However, there are more than 100 strains of HPV, many of which are not linked to cancer. Additionally, a woman who has a cancer causing strain can clear the strain (i.e. her immune system fights it off) without cancer developing.

There is more cervical cancer prevalence in developing countries and is highest in Africa.

Prevalence of cervical cancer is 2 to 5 times higher in HIV+ women.

Maternal Health
Rates of maternal mortality are higher in Africa than elsewhere. Of the top ten countries with the worst maternal mortality rates, 9 are in Africa. 1 in 7 women for Niger, 1 in 87 for South Africa.

Estimated 60-80% of pregnancies in South Africa end in c-section. The World Health Organization recommeds a country rate of 10-15%.


Random, I know. More real udaptes soon! Finals are over June 14th, woo hoo!