Entries by Harris Ayuk-Takor

“Men Who Have Sex With Men: Homophobia and HIV in Africa” was the topic of the first session I attended today. The three African panelists who spoke were from Malawi, Cameroon, and Zambia. One of the issues they addressed concerned legal provisions being used in some African countries to criminalize men wrongly. When LGBT people get arrested, few lawyers are willing to represent them because society frowns on. Two examples used noted: Alim Mongoche, one 11 Cameroonian men who spent more than a year in prison awaiting trial under a law that punishes sex between men; and the crackdown against a gay rights organization in Senegal, where nine men were sentenced last year to eight years’ imprisonment. Another focus of the seminar was the influence of Western ideologies on Africa’s policy on LGBT and MSM rights. Speakers pointed to Scott Lively in Uganda and how most of his anti-gay talking points were visibly apparent in Uganda’s anti-gay mandate. Continue reading "AIDS 2010: Reflections on Day 4"

Tuesday started off with a performance presented by Ms. Owoola-Adeojo Goldmark, a Nigerian who became an HIV/AIDS activist at the age of 7 and by the age of 15 was running her own foundation. The performance was comprised of a poetry session followed by African dance and drama. The main questions Ms. Goldmark asked us to think about were: (1) Who has the right to access art? 2) Who has the right to be educated after losing both parents to AIDS? and 3) Who has a right to be loved and not to be stigmatized?
Continue reading "AIDS 2010: Reflections on Day 3"

The second day of the XVIII International AIDS Conference went even better. I got a warm feeling seeing all these people from all over the world, different races, ethnic groups, sexual backgrounds, identities, youth and elders, under one banner of unity. As I was going into the conference building, I saw someone with a t-shirt that read, “Free Hugs”. I don’t know if he was a victim of the disease or just a volunteer, but when he asked me for a hug I did. A great way to start off the day.

Today, I decided to spend some time looking at the different exhibition presentations of the various organizations and companies working to eliminate AIDS, spread knowledge of the disease, and share ideas for preventing it. From AIDES to UNAIDS to Nigeria's National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, to Kenya’s TICAH – the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health, to the South African National AIDS Council, there was an abundance of information to learn and re-learn from every area of the disease: political, advocacy, health, pharmaceutical. Continue reading "AIDS 2010: Reflecting on Day 2"

Yesterday, as I walked into one of the entrance halls, I was overwhelmed with the sounds and sights of chattering citizens, advocates and activists. Multitudes of greens, reds, “Yes”, “Say No!”, “HIV/AIDS”, splashing into my eyes and eardrums. Enticed, I managed to get my registration card and catch the opening ceremony where, at the entrance, a protest was being held. You could see huge balloons floating, displaying pictures of world leaders: President Barack Obama, Sarkozy, Jonathan from Nigeria, and many others. Continue reading "AIDS 2010: Reflecting on Day 1"