Back to basics
Editorial
THE warnings about the HIV/AIDS threat are clearly not getting through to a section of the population and it's time for the authorities and all those concerned to get back to basics. That's the alarming finding from officials who also feel that the future for Guyana is dim if the spread of the disease is not curbed. We do not want to be seen to be alarmist but serious national problems cannot be tackled by paying cursory attention or wishing these will simply go away like a bad dream. Director of the Genito-Urinary Medical (GUM) Clinic at the Georgetown Hospital, Dr Karen Boyle, in an interview last week said the current trend in Guyana is worrying. The disease will create a dent in the workforce and in the years to come, the population growth will also be affected, she projected. It is not that the government is not doing anything. The administration is beginning to give more cooperation and last year, there were workshops aimed at getting people to understand the disease, Dr Boyle pointed out. But the appeals for a change in attitude are just not getting through. And this has to be unsettling to the decision-makers. "I don't think Guyanese have actually taken check that this is a disease that can affect me, you and everybody. It's still a disease that affects the other person and not me," Dr. Boyle said. For that reason, there has been no significant attitude change, she argued. Her suggestions for a return to basics face a hurdle. Dr Boyle feels that moral standards need to be picked up again if the spread is to be stemmed. Persons can give more consideration to not having sex before marriage and getting tested before marrying, she said. In such a union, the couples need to remain monogamous. Abstinence can also be given some thought, she said. Such messages though would seem to make little sense in the face of the almost unending sex-laced diet young people are offered in the entertainment industry - on television, music, cinema and shows. We are not prudish by any sense but hardly a day passes by when at least one x-rated movie is on at least one television station here each day. TV talk shows push sex, soaps push sex, comedy sit-coms push sex. Even the music videos leave little doubt in the mind of the average viewer that sex is what they are about. Most of the singers headed here flaunt their sex message and no one can blame the young for thinking that if their idols are advocating it, then there's nothing wrong in doing it without a care in the world. Sex is what sells these offerings and few if any push the message Dr Boyle advocates. Given the popularity and the impact of television, it would be difficult to influence a change. If education and public sensitisation campaigns are to have any impact, the planners and decision-makers would have to take on board the impact of television and the cultural shows on particularly the young. The best bet would seem to be using the same medium and messengers to try to drive home the warnings - and the sooner, the better.
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