Something in the Water...
In reading the article on anti-HIV strategies for Botswana women, there is a bit of controversy on the way a mother feeds her child. Previous studies have shown that HIV infected women should not breast-feed and result to formula feeding. The Botswana women seem to have a high risk of HIV, and the government strictly advised women to practice formula feeding rather then breast feeding due to the disease. The government distributed formula to needy women, so that they could all abide by the public policy, but did not distribute clean water.
In later years, a diarrhea outbreak took place killing 532 children under 5 years old due to the water used to mix the formula. The Medical Epidemiologist Tracy Creek of the U.S. centers for disease control and prevention found that out of the 532 children that died, 65% of the mothers were infected with HIV and 22% of the mothers fed the babies with formula while only one baby was breast fed. This news brought about an alarming concern. The question continued to be asked, do the Botswana women breast feed or continue to follow strict rules and continue to use formula?
MY THOUGHTS: From reading this article, I strongly believe the government should have taken this matter at all angles. They should have weighed the pros and cons on the situation. The women took the advice from the government. But they should have also been informed to mix the formula with clean water. I feel, in Botswana, the women did what they could. Clearly clean water is not easy for them to obtain.
Shonneau Lippett (7)
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org.silk.library.umass.edu:2048/cgi/content/full/20
UPDATE:
The Botswana government blames hitches in its contracting system for the formula shortages. They are saying, at first. women were supplied with canned formula. Then as formula usage began to spread more and more throughout the country, the formula given out was to be mixed with water. Which was the unhealthy factor. One interesting fact to consider is the story of Chandapiwa Mavundu. She was a 28 year old mother who had HIV. She had never breast-fed her son because the government nurses warned her not to. Her baby died at 8 months from diarrhea and vomiting. As you can see, the women trusted the government, but it is so sad to see how many children that had died. I can only imagine the devastation of the parents.
posted by PWH @ 11:51 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I completely agree with your opinion. I think that the government needs to take some serious approaches to the very serious situation. With the lack of clean water, the women really couldn't do much about the situation. It is hard enough to get by in the poverty, but these issues make it so much worse.
~Alyssa Terestre
I agree, the women had no other alternatives. What's really unfortunate is that formula feeding was imposed on all the women, when it wasn't necessary for those not infected. I agree with you that the government should have solved the problem from different angles, like with free testing clinics and most importantly, better education.
-Jane de Verges
I agree with you, as well. The government should have thought their plan through all the way. Although, with such a high percentage of women infected with HIV, the formula idea seems like a good public health policy. It's very unfortunate that the water happened to be infected by a diarrhea outbreak at that time. Hopefully now, the CDC and the Botswana government have learned from this incident and are trying to come up with adaptations to this public health plan. Perhaps they could still push the formula and educate the women on how to boil water to disinfect any bacteria that may be in it before they mix it with the formula. I can't imagine coming up with ways to prevent HIV in countries where sanitation and education are so poor.
- Maura Mulvey
Good article. It is sad that this happened. I agree with you some what but I also see what the government was trying to do. I feel like they had good intentions and they did what they thought was best. But, they clearly didn't cover all the bases. It's a shame how some people don't even have clean water.
-Alex Pavidapha
Africa has so many problems as is and this just adds to them. Unfortunately a lot of the governments in Africa do not have the resources to actually implement a plan like this; the inconsistency in formula deliveries and lack of clean water are proof of their inability to treat the epidemic. And all of this is getting worse due to the extreme poverty caused by the slump currently occurring in the global market along with inadequate leadership and mass corruption within African governments. Situations like these are the reason why giving foreign aid is so important.
-Conor Stenerson
This is really sad and if they are taking one step forward but not carrying it through with providing clean water then the formula is in a way useless unless you have the clean water. I hope this situation changes and Africa can come up with a water solution for these women and children.
Samantha DeBiasio
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