Students discuss AIDS epidemic

IU students participated in a live debate and discussion Tuesday with members of several African and South American countries on how the United States should respond to the growing AIDS epidemic abroad, how the drastic low level of education is further worsening the crisis and other obstacles the world must face to prevent the spread of the disease. \nThe global conversation was presented via video conference as the students talked live with representatives in five different countries and other U.S. universities.\nParticipating in the video conference were representatives from World Bank centers in Brazil, Mauritania, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.\nOne of the underlying arguments that most participants agreed with was that the war on AIDS should be fought on two fronts -- both at the government and individual level. \n"Hopefully people watching in other countries can see that it's a joint effort," said senior Kathryn Mullen, co-director of IU Student Global AIDS campaign.\nIU graduate student Dan O'Neil, the founder of the IU chapter of Student Global AIDS campaign, asked representatives from the African countries to comment on the role of political instability in deterring the fight against AIDS.\nYao Kouassi of Cote d'Ivoire said that while \ninstability is one of her country's biggest problems, many African governments are more concerned with survival than with AIDS programs. \nAnother representative from Cote d'Ivoire said the first step in fighting the AIDS pandemic is to begin by addressing the country's political issues. He said the United Nations has an important role to play to encourage peace.\nMuch of the discussions between students and the foreign representatives focused on ways to prevent the spread of the virus by focusing on education. \nNaiara G. da Costa of Brazil said the active education and engagement of youth about the virus is a necessary focus that will lead to fewer infections. Costa also emphasized that preventative programs should be based on evidence and not ideology, citing a controversial program in Brazil that promotes condom use for young people and makes them available in schools.\nIn Guinea, a representative said the AIDS prevalence rate is increasing in the country because information about the use of condoms is not commonly available to the Guinea people. The representative also said Guinea doesn't have the means to express itself on a global level.\nWhile much of the discussion centered around how the African and South American countries should establish policies to combat the virus, some heated opinions were voiced on how U.S. actions affect the nations for the better and worse. \nCaitlin Bradley, a student at Marquette, said via the video conference that the AIDS prevention policy should be combined with the fight against poverty in these nations and that the United States should find a way to give more to impoverished countries.\n"I think (Americans) find it too easy to ignore the AIDS pandemic and then even ignore it in our own country," Bradley said.\nJean Myameogo, a teacher in Burkina Faso, criticized the U.S. war in Iraq and suggested military expenses be directed toward fighting the AIDS epidemic instead. \nThe people participating from the Burkina Faso site, similar to the other African sites, were mostly teachers because students don't have the means of transportation to get to their respective conference sites. they said.\nMyameogo disagreed with the popularly voiced sentiment from Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea that political instability is the major obstacle in the fight against AIDS. The real problem, he said, is making funds available for the crisis. He added that the United States should use its position as a superpower to find ways to help people get information about AIDS.\nWith the spread of the Internet, even in the affected countries, many participants voiced a need to utilize this new medium to stop the spread of the virus. \nKouassi made a proposal that a program be created to tap into young peoples' interest in communicating via Internet to increase AIDS education. She described the idea as "a network of young people getting the word out on how to change their lifestyles." \nMullen said most of the ideas discussed during the conference weren't new, but hearing the thoughts of people living in countries struggling with the increased spread of AIDS/HIV made an impact on her.\n"It's good to know that students care enough to speak with other students and take that step to get involved," Mullen said.\nThe event was held at the IU International Programs building as part of the Conversations About Service and Engagement series, a weekly video conference on national issues sponsored by the Center for the Study of Global Change. Also involved in organizing the event were the Student Global AIDS Campaign and Americans for Informed Democracy.