Swaziland
The Swaziland flag consists of a shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with tassels. The placement of the shield and spears are horizontal. The following colors represent past struggles (red), stability and peace (blue), mineral resources (yellow), white and black (white and black people living together peacefully). In addition to the colors the shield represents protection from any enemies that Swaziland may or have had according to swazilandflag.facts.co.
The guardian newspaper covered a story on how giving women anti-retrovirals therapy (ART) has slowed down the spread of HIV. An anti-retroviral is a medication that will help treat HIV but will not cure the virus. However, it can slow down the spread of HIV. It was reported that since 2003 there has been a raised life expectancy to 49 and the anti-retrovirals has slowed down the spread of the virus in many women.
A health activist Bekhie Sithole says,“Things have really improved. Where you used to see people thinning and dying before us-look. You rarely meet a thin person on the street,” says Sithole. Swaziland’s doctors are trying their best to treat women and pregnant women with the anti-retrovirals (ART) medicine.
“We give thanks to those who try to find a solution like [ART]. But then us, as a new generation, it is our responsibility to keep away from these diseases, so that the coming generation can be free of HIV.” Sithole
In addition Nduduzo Dube a doctor in Manzini, Swaziland hopes that giving anti-retrovirals will help to end the widespread occurrence of the HIV virus.
Summary:
I do feel that the media portrays Swaziland in a biased way because it only talks about one side of the topic. It does not share the story of a person who has been treated. I feel that if they would have included their story, feelings, or comments it would have made the article better. It also does not share enough good news from the people who were actually treated. However, this article shares a great deal of cultural background which also I have read in the textbook “The African Experience”. This article also mentions Polygamous relationships, unpopularity of abstinence, monogamy, and circumcision and how it is encouraged specifically to men. It also states that most people would rather die than to be treated with ART. Overall this was an informative article and a good update on helping save the lives of women infected by HIV.
