Five-day Limit for Post-sex Pill

A recently licensed type of emergency contraception may offer women protection from pregnancy even when taken five days after sex.

Scottish researchers found that ulipristel acetate worked well after the three-day limit of the most commonly used drug, levonorgestrel.

At present ulipristel - unlike levonorgestrel - is only available with a prescription.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service welcomed the study.

Emergency contraception uses hormones to either prevent the release of an egg by the ovary in the hours after sex, or stop it implanting into the the womb.

Levonorgestrel is available from pharmacies, either with a prescription, or sold directly to over-16s.

A study by specialists working for NHS Lothian tested the effectiveness of levonorgestrel and ulipristel (which was licensed for use last year) using a sample of more than 1,600 women from the UK, Ireland and the USA.

A total of 2.6% of the levonorgestrel group became pregnant despite taking the drug, compared with 1.8% in the ulipristel group.

In a much smaller group of women who received emergency contraception more than three days after sex, there were no pregnancies among women who had taken lipristel compared with three pregnancies among those taking levonorgestrel.

The levels of side effects were roughly the same in both two drugs.

'Time window'

However, researchers said that the newer drug cannot be sold 'over-the-counter' at pharmacies because it did not yet have the established safety record of levonorgestrel.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service described the new type of drug as "exciting news".

She said: "It offers a longer time window for use than the traditional, emergency contraception pill.

"Different hormones are involved to the ones traditionally used in contraception, so it may be that these will prove to have other contraceptive uses in future.

"However, accessibly is key to the uptake of any time-sensitive medication and since this pill is not currently available over-the-counter and is significantly more expensive to buy than the traditional 'morning after pill', it may be that many women who could benefit from it are not able to access it."

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Satisfactory Sex Can Be Achieved In A Matter Of Minutes

Survey findings released this week dispel the commonly held fantasy that satisfactory sex requires a significant time commitment. The survey, conducted at Penn State by the Society for Sex Therapy and Research, revealed that satisfactory sex for couples typically lasts 3 to 13 minutes. Movies, television, books and the internet have convinced many couples that if they aren’t having sex “all night long:” their sexual life is in the pits and they are missing out on something significant.

The survey included information garnered from psychologists, physicians, social workers, marriage/family therapists and nurses who have collectively seen thousands of patients over a period of several decades. According to the survey data, 3-7 minutes of intercourse is categorized as “adequate,” 7-13 minutes is “desirable,” 1-2 minutes is “too short” and 10-30 minutes is “too long.”

“A man’s or woman’s interpretation of his or her sexual functioning as well as the partner’s relies on personal beliefs developed in part from society’s messages, formal and informal,” the researchers said. “Unfortunately today’s popular culture has reinforced stereotypes about sexual activity. Many men and women seem to believe the fantasy models of large penises, rock-hard erections and all-night-long intercourse.”

“This seems to be a situation ripe for disappointment and dissatisfaction,” said lead author Eric Corty. “With this survey, we hope to dispel such fantasies and encourage men and women by providing realistic data about acceptable intercourse, thus preventing sexual disappointments and misfunctions.”

Source: medheadlines.com

Study: Cell Phone Use Affects Sperm Count, Quality

A recent study concluded that extended cell phone use may affect the number and quality of the male sperm count. This would significantly diminish a man's fertility, making it much harder to produce a baby.

Experts from a Cleveland Clinic explained that, according to their findings, the count and quality of produced male sperm is inversely proportional to the frequency of their use of the cell phone.

Measurements done from an experiment revealed that men who use their cell phones for four or more hours a day produced the lowest sperm count, as well as the least visible sperm, reported dbTechno.

Dr. Ashok Agarwal, the study's lead researcher, said that they noticed a "significant decrease in the most important measures of sperm health with cell phone use and that should definitely be reflected in a decrease in fertility."

Fox News said that the scientists are relating the decreased count and quality of sperm to the electromagnetic energy produced by the cell phones. They theorized that the energy was harming body tissue, particularly by harming the male's DNA.

The scientists, however, noted that their study did not directly point to the cell phones as the cause of sperm damage.

Source: www.allheadlinenews.com

Quick Guide to Syphilis

8 Facts About Syphilis Everyone Should Know

New genetic evidence supports the theory that Christopher Columbus and his crew brought syphilis to Europe on the way back from their 1492 exploration of the Americas.

Following are facts about syphilis:

• Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the the Treponema pallidum bacterium. Because its symptoms mimic those of other diseases, it is often called "the great imitator."
• Syphilis starts out with a painless sore at the site of infection, which often disappears without treatment.
• Weeks later, a rash appears that can cover any part of the body, including the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. This may be accompanied by fever, fatigue and aches and pains. These signs appear and disappear for up to a year.
• In the tertiary stage, the bacteria may spread to internal organs including to the brain, causing numbness, paralysis, deafness and dementia. It may also cause heart trouble, including an inflammation of the aorta or heart valve problems.
• With early diagnosis, syphilis can be easily be treated with antibiotics.
• Before the advent of penicillin in the 1940s, syphilis had been treated in a range of uncomfortable ways, from toxic mercury to a risky practice of infecting victims with malaria in the hope that the fever would kill off the syphilis.
• Deborah Hayden, author of "Pox: Genius, Madness and the Mysteries of Syphilis," estimates that at its peak in the 19th century, syphilis may have infected as much as 15 percent of adults in Europe and North America.
• In a 2001 report, the World Health Organization estimated that there were an estimated 12 million cases of syphilis a year.

Source: www.reuters.com

Six Reasons to Have Sex Every Week

Studies show that regular sex (with all due precautions taken) provides a host of surprising health benefits.

Sex is good for adults. Indulging on a regular basis—at least once a week—is even better. Research links sex (with all safer-sex precautions taken) to an astonishing array of physiological benefits, from longevity to pain relief. Many studies don't address whether the health bonus comes from the act itself or from the corresponding emotional intimacy, but the bottom line is that getting physical has some great side effects—especially for women. Here are six ways that sex boosts your health:

1. It Fights Colds and Flu. Sexual intercourse once or twice a week raises the body's level of the immune-boosting antibody immunoglobin A by a third, according to research at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.

2. It's a Beauty Treatment. In a study at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland, a panel of judges viewed participants through a one-way mirror and guessed their ages. Those who looked seven to 12 years younger than their age (labeled "superyoung") were also enjoying lots of sex—four times a week, on average. OK, maybe they were having so much fun because they looked young. But it's likely the sex was helping, researchers say. One reason is that it raises a woman's estrogen level, which helps make hair shiny and skin supple.

3. It Burns Calories. A little over four calories a minute, or the equivalent of four Hershey's kisses in a half hour of love. Think of it as part of your weekly exercise regime, and burn, baby, burn.

4. Yes, Honey, I Have a Headache. For a woman a migraine might actually be a reason for making love rather than avoiding intercourse: the increase in endorphins and corticosteroids during arousal and orgasm is analgesic.

5. It Promotes Regular Menstrual Cycles. A series of studies by behavioral endocrinologist Winnifred Cutler and colleagues at Columbia and Stanford universities found that women who have intercourse at least weekly (except during their period) cycle more regularly than abstainers or the sporadically active. (Related research found that lesbian lovemaking also smoothes out menstrual cycles.) Cutler argues that intimacy is essential, not orgasms: "Regular exposure to a loving partner has extraordinary effects on health and well-being."

6. It Can Prevent Accidents. Women use the muscles of the pelvic floor to stem the flow of urine. As they age, they need to keep these strong to avoid peeing accidentally. The same muscles are exercised during intercourse, and as with all muscle-building programs, the benefits require consistency.

And if you're too tired to have sex, check out our By the Numbers on napping for tips on getting a little extra shut-eye during the day.

Source: www.newsweek.com

Study: 1 in 10 men had overlapping sex partners, raising HIV risk

www.wavy.com

A University of North Carolina study shows that one in every ten men observed in a 1-year period had overlapping sexual partnerships, which could be a contributing factor in the spread of HIV.

The UNC researchers also found that the prevalence of concurrent sexual partnerships was higher among black and Hispanic men than in other groups. Those men also are likely to have had sex with other men, and to have female sexual partners who also have concurrent sexual partnerships.

The findings were based on data collected from 4,928 men during a 2002 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study is published in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Photo by ABC News

Sex Every Day is Prescription for Improving Sperm Quality

www.timesonline.co.uk

Men who suffer fertility problems because of low sperm quality may be able to improve their chances of fatherhood by having sex every day, research has suggested.

While those trying for a baby are often told to refrain from ejaculating too often to protect their sperm count, Australian scientists have shown that this can be counterproductive and may lower male fertility.

Among men whose fertility problems stem from genetic damage to their sperm rather than a low sperm count, abstaining from sex can make their difficulties worse, research led by David Greening, of Sydney IVF, has shown.

The pilot study of 42 men whose sperm showed significant DNA damage found that daily ejaculation reduced this by 12 per cent. While the results are preliminary and no direct effect on fertility has yet been measured, they suggest that certain men could benefit from having sex more often, or from abstaining less before providing semen for use in IVF.

Dr Greening, who presented his results at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Washington yesterday, said: “I’m convinced that ejaculating more frequently, ie daily, improves sperm DNA damage in most men by a decent amount.

“Prior to IVF, for example, men are abstaining a lot more than normal and perhaps sperm DNA increases more than usual. Men think if they abstain for longer times before, say, ovulation that their sperm will be better. [There may be] more volume and numbers but DNA damage may increase.”

Abstaining from sex does increase the number of sperm that are ejaculated, and this has led to advice that couples trying for a baby should have sex every two to three days.

Longer periods of abstinence, however, achieve little because while the quantity of sperm might increase, its quality declines. As sperm is produced, it is stored in the epididymis at the top of the testicle, but the longer it sits there the more damage it accumulates from exposure to free radicals.

Regular ejaculation empties this sperm reservoir, making sure that newly produced sperm of higher genetic quality can get out.

Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said that clearing the reservoir was more important when sperm had high levels of genetic damage. “If you get above 30 to 40 per cent damaged DNA, a man is highly likely to be infertile,” he said. “When you put people on a daily ejaculation regime, it reduces that figure for DNA damage. If you can go from 30 per cent down to 20 per cent that is quite a big shift, that should have implications for fertility.

“There is a trade-off between genetic damage and quantity, so when a couple are first trying to get pregnant a wait of two to three days is probably advisable. But if you are a guy who has high DNA damage and a decent sperm count, it is probably in your interest to ejaculate every day.

“I remember one couple in which the woman would only let the man ejaculate when she was in her fertile period, so the poor chap was going without for almost a month at a time.

“Even leaving aside the frustration that must have caused, it would have had no benefits.”

Study: Sex OK for Men with Chronic Heart Failure

Sex may not be dangerous for men with chronic heart failure, despite fears that intercourse may place too much strain on their heart, a new review shows.

The problem, however, is that many men with chronic heart problems may lose interest in sex as a result of the fatigue, depression, and the prescription side effects they often experience, as well as from fear of damaging the heart, researchers say.

The literature review, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, compiled data from patient surveys and clinical trials on chronic heart failure, sexual activity and sexual dysfunction, and found that the patient’s peak heart rate during intercourse was lower than their heart rate during normal everyday activities like walking on level ground, climbing stairs or doing general housework.

Sixty to 70 percent of men with heart conditions also experience erectile dysfunction, the authors said. Erectile dysfunction often results from a decrease in exercise, as well as blood vessel and circulation abnormalities that may reduce blood flow into the penis.

The authors said that patients who cannot take erectile dysfunction medication may be able to remedy the problem by developing an exercise routine, which may help to enhance their sex drives and overall health.

Men with heart failure can have sex

How to Improve Sexual Performance

Contraception: Progress Brings Hope For New Methods For Men

www.sciencedaily.com

But will men actually use a new method if researchers make one? Elaine Lissner, director of the nonprofit Male Contraception Information Project, says demand is the least of the problems. "You'll never have all men interested, but attitudes have really changed - studies consistently show a majority of men would consider it. You have to remember, between condoms and vasectomy, men in the U.S. are already taking care of a third of contraception. Just imagine if they had another non-permanent option."

New options for male contraceptives: RISUG, IVD, and suspensory method. (Credit: Male Contraception Information Project)Kirsten Thompson, director of the International Male Contraception Coalition, concurs. "Some men are quite desperate for better control over their fertility. They're looking for something they can really count on."

Among the developments announced at the conference:

• Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and BIOQUAL Inc. showed they could provide contraception in monkeys with no hormones and no shots needed. (Monkeys are used for studies because of their similarity to humans.) The monkeys had no moving sperm after they took a compound called CDB-4022, and their fertility bounced back completely by 16 weeks. The researchers hope this will be a new nonhormonal contraceptive that can be taken as a pill; in survey results presented at the conference by the International Male Contraception Coalition, 61% of men listed a nonhormonal drug as their first choice. Safety studies will be the next step.
• A testosterone-like pill ("selective androgen receptor modulator") already in human testing as an osteoporosis and muscle-wasting treatment may have a side benefit: it could work as a hormonal contraceptive that could be taken as a pill. Until now, most "male Pill" research has used a combination of shots, implants, or gels. The SARM's industry support (by GTx, Inc.) gives it a good chance at commercialization.
• Another androgen that can be taken orally, Dimethandrolone Undecanoate (DMAU), was effective at reducing sperm numbers in rabbits if taken at a low, but not high, dose. Rabbits regained their fertility when they stopped the drug.
• Makers of the Intra Vas Device are expected to announce effectiveness data showing "substantial equivalence to traditional vasectomy methods" in a study of 90 men. The Intra Vas Device blocks sperm in the vas deferens, the tube sperm swim through that is cut in vasectomy. The set of plugs can be removed if a man changes his mind, and animal studies have shown that fertility returns if it is removed after short-term use. The next step will be to find funding for long-term studies of effectiveness and fertility return.
• Developers of a home sperm test ("SpermCheck") reported excellent results in men. The test perfectly matched more expensive laboratory tests in detecting whether men's sperm count is above or below 200,000-300,000 per millileter, an extremely low number (normal counts are above 20 million per millileter). When this test hits the market, it will help men who are using "do-it-yourself" methods such as simple wet heat and suspensories. It will also allow men who get vasectomies to know when their sperm are cleared out, without going to the doctor. About 1 in 6 American couples uses vasectomy as a contraceptive method, with more than 500,000 men opting for the procedure each year.

Researchers from around the world are also announcing new targets for contraception, and incremental progress on hormonal approaches ("the male Pill").

Male Birth Control might be on the market soon

Men's Health Zone

Man's voice an indicator of sexual potency: study

Canadian Research; Men with deep tones produce more children

Tom Blackwell

For many women, the deepness of a man's voice is one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs, a new study co-authored by a Canadian psychologist suggests.

All else being equal, males with lower voices produce more children than their higher-pitched counterparts, concluded the researchers in a search for evolutionary explanations of sexual attraction.

The study looked at Tanzania's Hadza tribesmen, one of the world's few remaining hunter-gatherer societies, because the Hadzas never use birth control, a complicating factor that makes it impossible to do such research elsewhere in the world.

The discovery that the pitch of their voices was a major determinant of how many children they would father underlines the deep-seated roots of the seemingly superficial human trait, said David Feinberg, a psychology professor at Mc-Master University in Hamilton, Ont.

Previous research has indicated that a deep voice signifies robust genes, in evolutionary terms. The findings, however, can not really be put into action on the dating scene, stressed Prof. Feinberg, a co-author of the study.

"This doesn't mean, go out and find a guy with a low-pitched voice if you want to have lots of babies," he said. "[But] it tells us a bit about where we came from and where we're going."

The findings, though, came as no surprise yesterday to professionals in the dating world.

At Toronto-based Misty River Introductions, billed as a "traditional match-maker," men with deep voices always seem to do better, and are much more likely to move beyond the initial stage of a telephone conversation with their potential date, said manager Linda Miller.

"We've had certain clients, you couldn't tell if they were men or women when they called in. They don't do terribly well," she said. "And then you have men who have radio-annnouncer voices, they have that great masculine timbre, and every call is a hit."

Some of Ruth Claramunt's female clients at Hearts Canada, another match-making service, have actually specified that they like men with low voices.

"Or if someone has a squeaky little voice: 'Oh, I didn't really like him,' " said Ms. Claramunt. "They could be a great big hunky guy and if they have a squeaky voice over the phone, it's sort of a negative."

Prof. Feinberg said he has been trying to see whether human males attract their mates with the same kind of "ornaments," like a peacock's plumage or a deer's antlers, seen elsewhere in the animal world.

Earlier in human evolution, it appears that the appeal of a deep voice was linked to testosterone levels. Deep voices are caused by high testosterone levels in adolescent. Large volumes of the hormone can also prompt immune suppression in a weaker person, so someone who survived to manhood with a deep voice would necessarily have a strong genetic makeup, said the psychologist.

No one, however, has been able to test until now whether the attraction of a deep male voice translated into their having more reproductive success.

For the study, Prof. Feinberg and his colleagues, anthropologists at Harvard and Florida State Universities, looked at 49 men and 42 women among the 1,000-strong Hadza people, who choose their own mates but have a fairly high divorce rate in an informal system of "serial monogamy."

The participants spoke into sensitive microphones and had their voices analysed with sophisticated electronic equipment. The pitch of the men's voices accounted for about 42% of the difference in number of children between fathers, the researchers found.

Although other studies have suggested that men are more attracted to women with high voices, the study found that the pitch of the women's voices did not predict how many children they would have.

Women may favor men with deep voices

Sex Boost From Late Hormone Therapy

www.webmd.com

But No Memory Benefit From Hormone Therapy Years After Menopause

By Daniel J. DeNoon

Hormone therapy begun years after menopause doesn't improve mental function, but it does boost sexual interest, researchers find.

Forgetfulness is more of a problem for women during and after menopause than it is before menopause. Does this mean the hormonal changes of menopause cause a decline in mental function? And if so, can hormone therapy help?

Studies suggest that hormone therapy begun during menopause can preserve mental function. Might later hormone therapy do the same?

In a study funded by Wyeth, the maker of the hormone products Prempro (estrogen plus progesterone) and Premarin (estrogen only), 180 healthy women began taking either Prempro or inactive placebo pills one to three years after menopause.

After four months of treatment, researchers Pauline Maki, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago and colleagues gave the women a battery of mental-function tests. Among other measures, they also gave the women a test that evaluated their sexuality, including sexual thoughts and interest in sex.

Hormone therapy did not help the women's memory.

"These results are similar to previous studies suggesting hormone therapy has minimal effect on a woman's memory when taken many years after menopause," Maki says in a news release.

But when it came to sexuality, it was a different story.

"The level of sexual interest reported by women on hormone therapy increased 44%," Maki says. "And their number of sexual thoughts increased 32% compared to the placebo group."

The Maki study had just begun when the results of the Women's Health Initiative showed that hormone therapy begun after menopause increases a woman's risk of breast cancer without decreasing risk of heart disease. The Maki study thus came to an abrupt end before it could enroll as many women as planned. This means the results have to be taken with a grain of salt.

The study appears in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Neurology.

Study finds Cialis effective for men with spinal injuries

www.canada.com

Medication triples number of times men can have sexual relations

The impotence pill Cialis appears to work even in men with spinal cord injuries, French researchers said Monday.

Impotence often follows spinal cord injuries. Only about 25 percent of men with such injuries are capable of having sex, Dr. Francois Giuliano and colleagues at the Raymond Poincare Hospital in Garches, France said.

They found that Cialis tripled the number of times the men could have sex.

Their study, funded by Eli Lilly and Co., maker of tadalafil or Cialis, involved 197 men with an average age of 38 in France, Germany, Italy and Spain with spinal cord injuries.

After a one-month waiting period, in which no one got treatment, a questionnaire to assess sexual function found both groups had moderate erectile dysfunction, Giuliano's team reported in the Archives of Neurology.

Then 142 men were assigned to the Cialis group and 44 got a placebo for a 12-week period, taking no more than one pill daily as needed before sexual activity.

After four months, men taking Cialis were successful nearly half the time they attempted intercourse, while men in the placebo group succeeded only 16.8 percent of the time.

Cialis and similar drugs work by increasing blood flow to the genitals.

The researchers said the Cialis study achieved success similar to that found in studies of Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra or sildenafil and Glaxosmithkline Plc's Levitra or vardenafil, all of which improved erections in men with impotence after spinal cord injury.

Erectile Dysfunction Drug Helps Men with Spinal Cord Injury

What are the Causes of Decreased Sexuality?

Condoms in Giveaway Are Effective

www.washingtonpost.com

By Susan Levine

The District Health Department sought to assure residents yesterday about the safety and quality of hundreds of thousands of condoms distributed as part of the city's effort to fight HIV/AIDS.

In response to a story Wednesday in The Washington Post about the free condoms, including reports that the wrappers are easily damaged, the department issued a statement stressing that the condoms had met federal and industry standards for packaging and manufacturing.

The statement also noted that officials were evaluating the effectiveness of the program, "including feedback on the quality of the condoms and receptivity by clients," and that the results would help determine which condoms were bought in the future.

"We're committed to learning what works best for the District," Health Director Gregg A. Pane said.

Several groups involved in the free distribution said this week that clients had rejected the condoms for a variety of reasons, including worries about torn packets minimizing the condoms' effectiveness and complaints about their feel and fit. A coalition of organizations supplying condoms via two well-publicized locations in Southeast returned at least 100,000 packets to the city this summer -- about 15 percent of the total the department says it has handed out since February.

"We may just have to wait for a new crop of condoms," said Patricia Hawkins, associate executive director at the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a member of the Life Guard coalition. If the city's next choice is guided by research on its efficacy and marketing appeal here, Hawkins said, she anticipates much more success.

"The issue is, we want people to use them," Hawkins said.

New HIV Test

http://www.wptv.com/

BACKGROUND: More than 1 million people living in the United States are living with HIV/AIDS. Each year, more than 40,000 people will be diagnosed with it. The Centers for Disease Control reports 74 percent will be men. African Americans, who make up just 12 percent of the population, account for almost half of the HIV/AIDS cases. HIV is transmitted by a person who is HIV–infected and can be transmitted by blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. The most common ways HIV is transmitted is unprotected sex, unprotected oral sex, sharing needles and infection during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

WHAT WORKS? More than 20 drugs are currently available for treating HIV. Because HIV genes mutate so easily and the virus reproduces so rapidly, most people who are infected have many different forms of the virus in their bodies. In some cases, mutated strains take on new properties that make them more resistant to the drugs used in antiretroviral therapy -- the primary means of treatment for HIV infection. During antiretroviral therapy that does not fully suppress the virus, a strain that develops drug resistance will grow more quickly than strains lacking such resistance, and the resistant strain will replicate to become the most prominent virus in the person's body.

A NEW TEST: Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have developed a highly sensitive test for identifying which drug-resistant strains of HIV are harbored in a patient's bloodstream. The test may provide physicians with a tool to guide patient treatment by predicting if a patient is likely to become resistant to a particular HIV drug, said one of its developers, Feng Gao, M.D., associate professor of medicine. Drug resistance is one of the most common reasons why therapy for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, fails.

WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: The Duke test examines the genes of HIV strains for mutations at certain positions that are known to be linked to drug resistance. The researchers analyze blood samples from three different groups of HIV patients: those who had never received antiretroviral treatment, those who had received treatment but were not currently being treated and those who were receiving treatment, but the treatment was not completely successful. After processing the blood samples and isolating the genetic material in each of them, the researchers added tiny fluorescent tags designed to stick to HIV genes in particular ways. Tags designed to stick to mutated gene locations known to produce drug resistance were labeled to appear green, while tags designed to stick to the same gene locations but where the genes had not mutated were labeled to appear red. The researchers used a sophisticated computer program to count the number of molecules with green or red fluorescent tags in each sample. The test proved sensitive enough to detect a single mutated virus out of 10,000 nonmutated viruses in the patient samples.

NOT JUST HIV: The test may have a broader medical application as well. It has the potential to detect mutations that confer drug resistance in hepatitis B, hepatitis C and tuberculosis.

Zimbabwean Teachers To Instruct Life Skills To Avoid HIV Infection

http://www.voanews.com/

By Carole Gombakomba

The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, is training 1,500 Zimbabwean teachers in new and practical methods to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The week-long training exercise ending Friday stands to benefit more than 500,000 children. The teachers, from training colleges in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Masvingo and Mutoko, will be teaching primary and secondary school children living skills to avoid HIV infection as well as fending off sexual molestation or exploitation.

Zimbabwe's Ministry of Education is rolling out the US$500,000 program.

UNICEF says the decline in Zimbabwe's HIV prevalence rate in recent years can be attributed to behavior changes including a later start of sexual activity for young girls in particular, faithfulness in sexual relations, and increased use of condoms.

Sex now primary cause of China HIV spread

Older adults don't give up on sex