Articles related to health from the press, 23rd June, 2010

Health Sector Programme Kenya
Articles Related to health from the press
23rd June, 2010.
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23.6. 2010, Nation Newspaper
At last, female condoms with teeth
Trying to remove rape –axe will only lead to a tighter grip, disabling walking
23.6. 2010, Nation Newspaper
When periods worsen illness
The menstrual cycle is associated with various, physical, psychological and
behavioral changes.
23.6.2010, Nation Newspaper
You need a lot of courage to fight HIV
Even the bravest of us freak out when we think we are loosing the battle
23.6. 2010, Standard Newspaper
Man gets 10 years for bid to defile minor
A Bondo court sentenced a man to 10 years imprisonment for attempting to defile a
minor
23.6. 2010, Standard Newspaper
Abused women at higher risk of HIV
A study by the South Africa Medical Research council has found that women in
abusive relationships are more likely to be infected by HIV
Source: Nation Newspaper
Theme: Sexual Abuse
Page:
3 NATION
DAILY
Wednesday
2010
Year/Date:
JuneJune
23rd 23,
June,
2010
NATIONAL NEWS 3
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
At last, female condoms with ‘teeth’
Trying to remove
Rape-aXe will only
lead to a tighter grip,
disabling walking
By JANET OTIENO
F
ew dare confront it, yet the violating act of rape is still very much an
aspect of every society.
But for one South African doctor,
something needed to be done — and fast
— to stem the menace after her encounter
with a rape victim. She invented female
condoms with “teeth”.
Four decades ago when Dr Sonnet Ehlers was reportedly on call at night, a devastated rape victim was brought in.
Eyes lifeless
“Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a
breathing corpse. She looked at me and
said, ‘If only I had teeth down there,’”
recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old
medical researcher at the time.
It was then that Dr Sonnet decided
someday, she would come up with something to help fight rape, according to CNN.
Forty years down the line, she came up
with a unique solution, worn by women
like tampons — the Rape-aXe.
The device can only be surgically removed once it has lodged itself on the
male genital, which will result in positive
identification of the attacker and subsequent arrest.
The rapist in question will not be able
to walk right or even urinate due to constant pain. If he tries getting rid of it, it
will only get a tighter grip. However, the
condom will not cause any serious harm
like breaking the skin or giving way to the
danger of any fluid exposure.
Dr Sonnet went a step further and consulted “engineers, gynaecologists and psy-
chologists” to help make the design safe
and not subject victims to HIV or other
sexually transmitted diseases.
The anti-rape condom is now undergoing a trial period in South Africa, where
it is distributed free to women, especially
during the Fifa World Cup. Once the trial
is over, it will be available on the market
for $2.20 (Sh170).
So will the razor sharp condom be the
answer to rapists? Perhaps in South Africa, which according to Human Rights
Watch has one of the highest incidence
of rape in the world. A 2009 report by
the country’s Medical Research Council
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Residents march
to the Kaloleni
DC’s office
demanding the
arrest of a DO
they accused of
raping a girl, 12.
Below, left: South
African inventor
Dr Sonette Ehlers
explains how
her new antirape female
condom works,
at Klaemond, 120
kilometres from
Cape Town. Dr
Ehlers unveiled
the condom
(below, right) that
hooks onto an
attacker’s penis
and aims to cut
down one of the
highest rates of
sexual assault
in the world.
Photos/FILE and
AGENCIES
found that 28 per cent of men surveyed
had raped a woman or girl, with one in 20
saying they had raped in the past year.
Some people see Dr Sonnet’s innovation
as welcome, since women have always
taken drastic steps to ward off rape.
However, critics are accusing Dr Sonnet of developing a medieval weapon
in fighting rape. They are asserting that
the device will only incite more violence
against women since a man subjected to
great pain might easily kill the woman
wearing it, adding that the act of wearing the condom in anticipation of being
assaulted represents enslavement that no
woman should be subjected to.
Ms Rosemary Okello, the director of African Woman and Child Feature Service
(AWC), a non-governmental organisation
based in Nairobi, seems to agree.
28
Percentage of South African men
surveyed who had raped a woman
Speaking to the Nation Media Group’s
online publication, Africa Review, Ms
Okello says “medical invention cannot be
used to tackle a social problem”, since this
will not address say, sexual harassment.
Then there are all those babies who are
subjected to rape, but are still too young
to wear the condom.
Ms Okello added that although the device had been developed in good faith, it
was still gender and age biased.
“What about men who are also victims
of rape, and how many women will have
access to it?” she asked.
Like other lobbyists, she is instead rooting for more preventative and educational measures for both men and women,
aimed at stopping sexual assault in the
first place.
At the World Cup, the world is watching
to see if rapists will be deterred.
Source: Nation Newspaper
Theme: Menstrual Cycle/ Period cramps
DAILY NATION
Page: 4
Wednesday
June2010
23, 2010
Year/Date:
June 23rd June,
4 LIVING
AS THEY GROW
HEALTH
The transition from boy to man
Your support as a parent is very important to help your son during this confusing
developmental stage, writes DOROTHY KWEYU
J
crisis. He is neither a boy nor a man, says
Munyua, giving the example of a wedding
reception where the boy is rejected at
the adults’ food counter because “The
children’s queue is over there” and is
also turned away at the children’s queue
because “The adults’ food is there!”
This confusion sees the boy spending
more time in the bathroom in an effort
to examine himself more closely and
understand who he is. Suddenly, he is
obsessed with the formation of his body
and you could be saddled with a bill for the
gym — because he thinks his shoulders are
not broad enough and his biceps are not
quite what they should be.
ust as girls’ transition to womanhood
starts with monthly periods and
enlargement of the breasts, so do
boys experience bodily changes, Ken
Munyua, a counsellor at the Maranatha
International Counselling Foundation, told
Living.
Boys begin having wet dreams at the
age of 12, although some begin as early as
nine. “This will continue up to andropause
— the equivalent of menopause — when
they can no longer produce sperms,”
Munyua explains.
The 26-year-old counsellor’s definition
of a wet dream borders on the
tautological: “It’s a dream that turns
out to be wet; it’s all about feelings.”
Evoking the Oedipus complex
theory, Munyua explains: “The little
boy falls in love with his mother.
He would want a woman who’s like
her. He thinks of a girl that fits his
mother’s description and sex happens
in his mind. The wet dream is a form of
ejaculation and the boy has satisfaction in
a wet way.”
This calls for education before the onset
of wet dreams — as early as class four.
“These are sperms and they can make a
woman pregnant,” warns Munyua. Unless
the boy knows about the implication of his
actions, he will engage in premature sex,
with devastating results such as getting
sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV, or making a girl pregnant.
Alarmed
Confusion
This is also when a boy begins to break
his voice. “It causes confusion because
his voice is neither shrill nor low and he
wonders what’s happening to him,” says
Munyua, recalling that when he joined
Form One in boarding school, he had
hoped to be a bass singer in the school
choir, only to be lumped with sopranos.
“Thank God it was a boys’ school,
otherwise I’d have been devastated.”
It takes time for the boy’s voice to
stabilise…”even in Form Four”. The change
is brought about by the growth of the
Adam’s apple and comes with its share of
problems, says Munyua. “They feel sick
— like something is blocking their voice.
“Parents might even seek medical help and
a quack could pretend that he’s diagnosed
the boy’s disease.”
A supportive father — “or mother if
she is a single parent” — is vital, says
the counsellor. The boy’s father is his
best friend at this time because he has
walked that road and can help the boy
through self-disclosure. He has the task of
educating, being best friend, role-model
and mentor to the boy.
Some changes in the boy can be
awkward to explain, so the single mother
could take the child to a trusted older
person to mentor him and reassure the boy
that what is happening to him is normal.
Transition to manhood and the changes
the boy undergoes see him become more
critical of his associations. While he would
relate to any girl before, he now begins to
be choosy about the kind of girls he relates
with.
Yet he remains caught in an identity
Father and son: It is
important to explain
to boys the physical
changes that are
taking place in their
bodies
Photo/
PHOTOS.COM
The boys are obsessed with their penises
and the speed at which their pubic hair is
growing. Some get alarmed and virtually
attempt to escape from themselves — by
avoiding the bathroom altogether. “They
become enemies with water,” Munyua says,
and parents have to force them to bathe
and maintain general hygiene.
Some boys develop acne, leading to
a negative self-image. They should be
reassured that spots signify shedding of the
child’s skin to pave way to the adult’s.
This is also when boys want to establish
peer identity. “As a group, they eye the
same girls. Unconsciously, they start to
compete with their dads for Mum’s love
and attention. The boy thinks, “Mum
is beautiful”. Dad should be aware that
this is a passing phase and must not try
to compete with his son,” the counsellor
warns.
Kids mature are different ages, and
parents should give the appropriate
education to boys in phases.
As boys become aware of girls, they
should not see girls as enemies. “Instead,
teach them to recognise the boundaries
and to respect girls. Tell them they’ll feel
the sexual urge, which is very normal. Also
teach boys about the changes in girls so
that they (boys) can avoid them when their
oestrogen is at its peak.”
Aware that many parents are spending
most their time making money, Munyua
asks those who feel genuinely constrained
for time to spend the money they make
on consultant doctors and counsellors to
help their children navigate the difficult
transition from childhood to adulthood.
dkweyu@ke.nationmedia.com
When periods
worsen illness
T
he menstrual cycle is associated
with various physical,
psychological and behavioural
changes. Some medical and mental
health conditions worsen during the
menstrual cycle. In some women, for
instance, periods trigger migraine
headaches. The predictability of
migraine headaches makes it possible
to use medication to forestall an
attack.
Also associated with periods is
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a
common disorder that affects the
large intestine and causes cramping,
abdominal pain, bloating gas,
diarrhoea, constipation and altered
bowel habits. It can be managed with
fibre supplements, anti-diarrhoea
medication and by eliminating foods
with lots of gas such as carbonated
drinks and raw fruits and vegetables,
especially cabbage, broccoli and
cauliflower.
Menstruation-induced epilepsy
is believed to result from cyclic
alterations in reproductive hormones.
Seizures often start at, or shortly
after puberty, with the frequency
increasing with menstruation. Because
the seizures increase when there
is rapid decrease in progesterone,
uninterrupted combined use of oral
contraceptives or a progesterone-only
oral contraceptive is the preferred
treatment.
Asthma is influenced by reproductive
steroids, as evidenced by the fact that
it is more common in females after
puberty. In many women, there is
increased frequency and severity of
attacks before or during menstruation.
Treatment of pre-menstrual asthma
includes the usual asthma medications,
although contraceptive pills have also
been shown to be effective in severe
cases.
Cyclic alterations in arthritis may be
attributable to menstrual cyclicity in
the body defense mechanism since the
reproductive hormones estrogen and
progesterone have anti-inflammatory
properties that can alleviate the
symptoms. Use of estrogen, either
alone or in combination with the pill,
has helped some women with arthritis.
Meanwhile, the mental health
disorders aggravated by the menstrual
cycle include anxiety, eating disorders
and depression. Mood swings and
irritability have been shown to increase
significantly before periods.
Dr Kamau Kinyenje
Pointofcare@africaonline.co.ke
FAMILY LAW
My ‘parents-in-law’ are threatening to take their daughter back
I have been “married” for three
years but haven’t paid the bride
price. My “wife’s” parents now
want her back. They claim that
since I have not the bride price, she
is not my wife and they can take
her away at any time. Is this legal,
given that we have children? Are
our children not proof that we are
married?
to be fulfilled are determined by the
customs of the parties involved. If,
according to your culture, paying
bride price is a must for a marriage to
be established, then your marriage has
not been formalised.
On the issue of children being proof
of your marriage, the courts have on
various occasions held that children
are not.
In Kenya, marriages are either
customary or statutory. Each
marriage system has conditions to be
fulfilled in order to be deemed legal.
Under customary law, the conditions
There is a couple that has been
abusing their seven-year-old
son. Last week, after claiming
that he had stolen Sh100, they beat
him, after which his mother burnt
his buttocks with a hot knife. After
four days, she took him to hospital.
The nurses called the OCS and she
was arrested, but she was released
four hours later after bribing them.
How can I help this boy?
The Children’s Act provides that
anyone who has reasonable cause
to believe that a child needs care and
protection may report the matter to the
nearest authorised officer. So please
contact the Children’s Department or
a social worker. Your local authority
should have a children’s department.
There is also a district children’s officer.
You can also call the toll-free Children’s
Helpline 116 to report the case.
I have made a young woman
pregnant. Her friends have
confided in me that all she wanted
was a baby, with no strings
attached, and that she plans to
raise the child by herself. As the
father, should I not keep the baby?
How do I ensure that I get to be a
part of my child’s life?
of the Children’s Act provides that you
can get parental responsibility. Since
you are not married, you will have no
parental responsibility when the child
is born. However, you can apply to
court seeking parental responsibility.
Once you do that, the court will
determine matters of custody so that
you can have access to your child and
bond with it. It will further order you
to meet certain obligations, such as
maintenance of the child.
Fathers have as much right as
mothers to be involved in the
lives of their children. And Section 25
Send your questions to our experts
on children’s rights and family law
to: musyimilaw@gmail.com
Source: Nation Newspaper
Theme: HIV/AIDS
Page: 8
IVING
Year/Date: June
23rd June, 2010
DAILY NATION
8 L
Wednesday June 23, 2010
LIVING POSITIVELY
You need lots of courage to fight HIV
Even the bravest of us freak out when we think we’re losing the battle
R
ecently, I went for a blood
count analysis to establish
my immunity, or, as we in
the HIV world put it, “how Aids is
making merry in my system”. I had
good reasons for doing this. I had
suffered from persistent cold and
chest infections that wouldn’t heal,
no matter what drugs I used.
Within my circle of friends, bound
by our HIV-positive status, we
sometimes crack jokes that make
new members in our group therapy
sessions cringe. It’s not unusual
to hear a member asking another
why she’s so selfish not to donate
blood yet she has so much, only to
hear the other retort that her blood
contains so much poison that the
doctor would only flush it down the
drain.
So when my friends started
teasing me that I was “going”, and
that I should put my house in order,
I was not amused. They didn’t know
that the joke was making the soldier
in me freak out.
“Yako imefika mwisho,” they
kept joking, meaning my virus had
reached the end of the road, as I
coughed my poor lungs out.
I know better than to take such
comments seriously, but, inwardly,
I was deeply worried. Fortunately,
things were not as bad as they
seemed. My CD4 count was 467.
Plus, I had an undetectable viral
load. As I left the doctor’s room with
the usual lie that I would return
on the appointment date, I was
relieved that my health was still
stable.
I have friends who have lived with
this virus for years and have nothing
to show that they are infected. They
are not on antiretroviral therapy,
drink alcohol, violate almost all the
rules in the book, yet they look as
healthy as ever.
I also have other friends who,
despite walking down the narrow
road, are the first culprits of
opportunistic infections like
tuberculosis. Some don’t last long
before losing the battle. Sometimes
these ironies leave me with more
question marks than full stops.
Because of the questions I’m
asked, it’s proving impossible for
me to build standard foundation
of thoughts about HIV. In some
forums, some people address me as
“Daktari”, which makes me almost
laugh. But what is clear is that this
battle needs devotion and courage.
I usually tell those directly affected
to build a devoted relationship
with this virus, (never mind that I
sometimes doubt mine). By this I
mean to abide by the accepted and
scientific rules to live longer. And
I advise those not free of the virus
to take every measure not to be
infected.
One of my close friends told me
he thinks that this virus is utterly
dependent on forces outside us.
He compared those affected by the
virus to a farmer who cultivates his
field and sows the seeds, knowing
all too well that in the final analysis,
she is dependent on circumstances
beyond his control, that is, good
weather.
“Unfortunately, there are
no green houses for HIV
management,” he remarked,
arguing that some people succumb
to the virus very easily while others
rise above the outside forces.
He was referring to those of
us who are infected, saying that
unless we diligently pursue our
full responsibility and take care
of ourselves the best we can, the
battle will be very tough. He needed
my opinion as an “expert” in this
field. I wish they knew that my
“expertise” comes from the number
of years I’ve clocked with this virus.
It’s not as bad as it used to be. In
those days myths were the order of
the day, and I even drank my own
urine believing it was a cure. And
the cost of ARVs was very high,
leading to the deaths of many of
my colleagues. These days, ARVs
are easily accessible. So generally,
things have changed for the better.
I need not tell you the answer I
gave my friend. However, one thing
was certain; as the years go by, HIV
is bringing with it lots of challenges
needing a high level of courage and
study. Paths are made by walking.
The walk has been long, but the
path is there, and it’s beaten by
those of us who are still alive. Let’s
take courage, and make the path
safe for those using it by removing
the obstacles lon the way. Let’s not
allow fear to dominate the way for
this will make the problem worse.
Fear says, “Run!”, but courage stops
and fights back.
asuntawagura@hotmail.com
This is the diary of Asunta Wagura, a mother of two who
tested positive 23 years ago. She is the executive director of the Kenya
Network of Women with Aids (KENWA).
Effect of ADHD
drugs not lasting
N
either attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
nor medications used to treat it have
a long-term impact on kids’ growth,
a new study published online in The
Journal of Pediatrics suggests. Previous
studies have shown that medication
might make kids with ADHD eat less
and grow slower than their peers
without the condition – at least at first.
According to the Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention, almost 10 per
cent of boys and six per cent of girls
have been diagnosed with ADHD.
“There have been concerns in the
literature about the use of ADHD
medications and their effect on
growth,” Dr Stephen Faraone, a
psychiatrist at Upstate Medical
University in Syracuse, New York, and
one of the study’s authors, told Reuters
Health. “We found that that (growth)
delay tends to be most prominent
in the first year or so, and tends to
attenuate over time.”
Dr Faraone and his colleagues
measured and weighed 261 kids with
and without ADHD that they had been
following for at least 10 years. Most of
the kids with ADHD had spent at least
some of that time on stimulants such
as Ritalin and Adderall.
At the end of the study, there was no
difference in the height or weight of the
kids — now mostly adults — who had
ADHD and those that didn’t.
REUTERS
Source: Standard Newspaper
Page Sexual
10 I NATIONAL:
COL
Theme:
Abuse
Page: 10
Year/Date: June 23rd June, 2010
Quickkead
!lONDO: Man gets 10 years
for bid to defile minor
ABanda court sentenced aman to
ten years imprisonment for possessing
bhang and attempting to defile aminor.
Ibrahim Ogawa otwodi, who pleaded
guHty toboth charges, was accused
of having committed the offences at
Kaudha East sub·location inGem on
March l. In the same court, ateenager
who attempted to rape awoman, 25,
was also sentenced to five years in jail.
James Okumu Ng'owi who appeared
before Senior Resident Magistrale
Evelyn Olwande was found guilty of
intentionally attempting torape the
complainant.
Source: Standard Newspaper
Theme: HIV/AIDS
Page: 10
Year/Date: June 23rd June, 2010
Study: Abused women
at higher risk of HIV
Astudy by the South African Medical
Research Council has found that women
inabusive relationships are more likely
to become in;ected with HIV. Researchers
say South African women in unequal
relationships had ahigher rate ofHIV
infection compared to women who had more
equality in their relationships
They also say addressing inequalities
inrelationships could prevent nearly 14 per
(ent ofnew HIV inrections. Nearly 12 per