September 2006 Archives

SHYMKENT, KAZAKHSTAN — This industrial city is reeling after learning that at least 63 children have been infected with HIV through medical negligence many blame on corruption and the illicit sale of blood.

At least five infected toddlers have died after receiving injections or blood transfusions in hospitals in Shymkent, a city in Kazakhstan's most densely populated region 1,000 miles south of the capital.

Valentina Skryabina, leader of the nongovernment group Nadezhnaya Opora, which works to prevent AIDS among drug addicts, is convinced the illegal sale of blood is the source of the HIV in Shymkent's hospitals.

WOMEN activist groups are advocating a change in societal attitude towards speaking freely about sex and sexuality in order to reduce the vulnerability of women to HIV and Aids.

This comes from the realisation that the Sexual Offences Act does not compel spouses to reveal their HIV status to each other.

The Act, the women argue, has two clauses that stipulate that it is a criminal offence to transmit HIV wilfully and that marital rape is a crime.

However, the legislation..