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Polygamy & HIV


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In the tiny African kingdom of Swaziland, two age-old practices are still around: polygamy and monarchy. But in a country with such a high rate of HIV infection, critics wonder if the king should be setting an example by taking so many wives.
Jaron

15 responses // Polygamy & HIV

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jZeiC8EUw
    Christy Turlington tells us how money from PRODUCT (RED) helps the people in Swaziland.

    I always wondered - I usually just hear about the clothes.
    Swiyyah
  • http://current.com/items/88110251_world_aids_day
    grrreat pod.

    thirty seconds less of the parade footage and one or two more interviewds would have made it amazing.
    smorrisey
  • http://current.com/items/88286171_afro_bolivians_crown_...
    He is the KING!!!!!!! ...of Bolivia
    NOTOTHEWALL
  • This is misleading. Polygamy does not cause the spread of AIDS any more than a normal marriage would. Polygamy in its the traditional African/Swazi way has all partners remaining faithful within the marriage. It's only when someone goes outside the marriage for sex that AIDS spreads into the marriage (and consequently to all spouses).

    Polygamy isn't the problem. Unfaithfulness is.
    corinth
  • corinth: Polygamy isn't the problem. Unfaithfulness is.

    well said. lack of education plays a major part and i'm sure there are still some cultural taboos on the subject.
    donkeyfly69
  • I agree
    kimrich09
  • I am not for polygamy by any means but I really resent the implication in the pod that HIV is linked to polygamy. I am African and the AIDS crisis is spread by ignorance, lack of information (a point stressed in the pod by one of the subjects, yet not mentioned by the narrator). Putting in footage of the birthday celebration in the pod while talking about the spread of HIV is disingenous in my opinion. The pod was more about the Kings birthday and how many wives he had, or were you trying to imply something...( that I will not even write). I agree that polygamy is an issue, but polygamy and HIV are two separate issues, and that was a BIG problem I had with this pod
    lauryn206
  • I agree with Kimrich09. HIV/AIDS is spread mostly by ignorance and shame/pride. I live in Fort Lauderdale and this is a gay city. Our share of HIV is high. We are striving for schools to teach about protection. We have various groups going out into the streets at the clubs and bars handing out condoms. This is the new world we live in and we must accept it. The Government tends to forget about the heat and passion in a young man or woman. Abstinence is not the answer. I have HIV and pray that our young people will be taught the cruel reality of this disease. May they learn from our mistakes.
    alberthebert
  • This is definitely an interesting pod, but I have to agree that polygamy is not the problem. The problem is people not being wise/safe about not only their sexual health and history, but their partners sexual health and history.
    ajwashington
  • free condiments? wheres the hot dogs?
    awesome pod. great job.
    moscow_moscow
  • another great pod. this channel's international reporting is such a breath of fresh air.
    ScottR
  • REALLY? Was the bottom line of this warped view to actually blame Polygamy for being guilty of a continued spreading of the HIV virus? It's a fucking epedemic...or did she not get the memo? Sex is the reason for the spread of any STD...not taking as many wives as you want. What do you think unwed men do (pause for dramatic effect) Oh yea, HAVE SEX WITH MANY MEN AND/OR WOMEN. This, I wouldnt say insulting, but humbling to watch. We need to, as Americans, educate others. No matter how hard, if we know it is going to keep killing millions and millions a year, and also know that we are no closer to finding a cure than when we first started just the ablility to give these poor soals a longer life with an awful, painful, socially unacceptable, fatal virus shouldnt we find another way to stop it? I think the answer is right in front of our noses. We know why the problem is so huge in Africa; they are not aware of the reality of this very contagious and deadly virus. It's not as easy as it sounds, I know, but its not easy to make new medicine every year to combat new forms of a very adaptable virus. Lets all work together, not to change who and what Africa's people and land are, but to allow them access to the answers they so desperatly need and we should feel obligated to give.
    justjack
  • This pod is more about the king's birthday celebration, than the HIV problem. It didn't show proof of polygamy because most of the people interviewed only had one spouse or no spouse at all.
    losboogie72
  • http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Cure-Africa-Fight-Again...
    Have you read Helen Epstein's The Invisible Cure? She has a lot to say about how concurrent partners contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. According to her, it's not necessarily polygamy, but a modern incarnation of it – people having multiple long-term partners.

    Although there's still a lot of debate about whether or not she's right, a lot of American conceptions about why HIV/AIDS is spreading so quickly and can be done to stop it are simply wrong. It's not ignorance that's causing the spread in many parts of sub-Sahara Africa. The Nelson Mandela/HSRC 2002 study found that the vast majority of South Africans were well-educated about how HIV was transmitted.

    The solution is not condoms, and it's not abstinence. No country in the world has gotten their citizens to use condoms with any sort of regularity – condom use rates are about the same for South Africa and the United States. Bush's PEPFAR plan that pours money into abstinence is obviously not working.

    Some of the comments on this pod are insulting. We are not the all-mighty Americans who hold the answers to HIV/AIDS. It's ridiculous to believe that "We need to, as Americans, educate others" as JustJack wrote. Africans know how HIV is spread. There is a disconnect between knowledge and behavior, just like there is in the U.S. The solution is going to be a combination of things, but to pretend that Americans have all the answers is absurd – especially when our own HIV rates are on the rise again.
    jkno
  • Has anybody read the ethical slut? I wonder how much polygamy contributes to HIV. I'm sure the socio-economic policy of the nation determines that, right?
    Spiral9

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