VOA标准英语2009年-World Marks AIDS Day

As spread of disease slows, stigma¹ remains²

Selah Hennessy | London 01 December 2009

 
Winnie Sseruma, one of nearly 80,000 people in Britain who are HIV positive, raises awareness³ about HIV and AIDS through her work at the UK-based Christian⁴ Aid charity (file)

"For us who are infected, there's still stigma, you know. There's still a lot of people who can't come out and say I'm HIV-positive because they wonder what the reaction will be."

Marking World AIDS Day this year, the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS has published new research that shows the number of new HIV cases decreasing worldwide and it says HIV prevention programs are making the difference. But in many African communities, in Britain and elsewhere, fear of HIV still shrouds⁵ the virus in secrecy⁶ and bars the path to more comprehensive prevention.

Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma has been living with HIV for 21 years.

She was in her twenties when she applied⁷ for a job as a health care worker and had a blood test for HIV. When the results came back positive her life turned upside down.
 
"Shock was the main feeling at that time, and I thought you know what do I do now? Am I going to live for a long time, am I going to die, what is going to happen to me now?" Sseruma said.

Today, 33 million people are living with either HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, or the disease itself.

A new report, just ahead of World AIDS Day, says Africa is still the hardest hit. But it also says the number of new HIV infections is decreasing. And that, the UN says, is a sign that prevention is working.

 

In Uganda, six percent of the population is HIV positive (file)

Winnie Sseruma is one of nearly 80,000 people in Britain who are HIV positive.  That's less than one percent of the population.  But in the country of her parents, Uganda, six percent of the population is still HIV positive.

Winnie says HIV in Africa won't be contained until people feel free to talk openly about it. 

"For us who are infected, there's still stigma, you know. There's still a lot of people who can't come out and say I'm HIV-positive because they wonder what the reaction will be," Sseruma said.

In Britain, two-fifths of all new HIV cases are in the African community.

Marc Thompson is from the AIDS campaign group the Terrence Higgins Trust. He helps HIV-positive people in London's African community.

"What we've certainly seen is that if there's stigma and discrimination, and if there is broadly stigma, people are fearful and are less willing to come forward and be tested," Thompson said.

He says if HIV-positive people aren't tested, they are more likely to pass on the virus to sexual partners and from mother to child.

He says the stigma is especially high in African communities because of taboos⁹ surrounding sex.

Marc Thompson, from the AIDS campaign group the Terrence Higgins Trust, helps HIV-positive people in London's African community (file)

"So it's about trying to overcome that barrier, it's trying to work with faith leaders so they no longer think that sex is just a taboo⁸ and that HIV and AIDS is revenge from God for promiscuity," Thompson said.

For many years Winnie kept her HIV status a secret from friends and family.  

She says she first had to come to terms with her shame about carrying the virus.

"I had to access counseling to deal with some of my fears, to deal with some of the shame that I felt at that particular time. And once, you know, I was able to deal with that, then I was able to talk about my HIV status," Sseruma said.
 
Now Winnie raises awareness about HIV and AIDS through her work at Christian Aid, a charity based in Britain.

She says now that she's confronted the stigma she can live an open life. And she hopes she can help bring an end to the shame that has surrounded the virus for so many years.

"I talk about HIV publicly, I live with it the best way I know how, I share my experiences with people and help others in my situation and I try to educate others about HIV," Sseruma said.

With millions of HIV-positive people taking anti-retroviral drugs, AIDS no longer has to be a death warrant.

But with less than half of HIV-positive people in Africa receiving the treatment they need, experts say prevention is the key to fighting the HIV epidemic¹⁰.

Dr. Ade Fakoya is a physician and advisor¹¹ at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

"Prevention always gets less of a deal than treatment and that's a shame because for every five new infections, we're only able to get two on treatment, so we clearly have to focus on prevention," Fakoya said.

But prevention is low priority in many countries dealing¹² with the disease.  
 
With HIV and AIDS still spreading, health experts say prevention is a complex challenge that lies ahead.

 

1 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 shrouds   

n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密

参考例句：

• 'For instance,' returned Madame Defarge, composedly,'shrouds.' “比如说，”德伐日太太平静地回答，“裹尸布。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Figure 3-10 illustrates the result of a study or conical shrouds. 图3-10表明了对锥形外壳的研究结果。 来自辞典例句

6 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

9 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

10 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

11 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。