Summary: Working Group on Health Promotion

The role of cultural factors in health including AIDS prevention

The following topics were examined: the role of information and education in preventing the spread of AIDS; the role of educating women and youngsters in general health, and the possibility that some traditional practices might need to be reconsidered.

Ms. Berhane Ras-Work, of the InterAfrican Committee, spoke about the role of traditional practices and health. She pointed out that in many cultures the continued practice of child brides, child beating and malnutrition, especially concerning female children, is having extremly adverse effects. This is further compounded by the traditional practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). The speaker pointed out that international communities have been trying to tackle this since 1984 through programmes involving education, training and information dissemination with special reference to FGM.

Ms. Sophy Cotis, of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), focused on girl-guides and girl-scouts programmes, which help young girls to develop physically and emotionally. She pointed out how the achievement of good health plays an important role in overcoming insecurity and how physical well-being impacts the mind and the conscience. These programmes help girls to become well-adapted women who can handle the daily challenges of adult age.

Ms. Mahesh Mahalingham, of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) spoke about the prevention of AIDS spread. He pointed out that prevention and education are no longer negotiable in terms of the AIDS issue: this epidemic is only at the beginning and it will become a dilemma if appropriate actions are not taken. The speaker also pointed out that 140 countries made a commitment to educate young people. It was said that information about AIDS is available to about 80% percent of the young people, but in reality nearly 50% of young people have not even heard about AIDS. As a matter of fact, there are still so many people in the world who are not aware of AIDS and who believe that one can see if a person is infected by looking at him. There is a need to educate people, to ensure increasing condom use and increasing HIV testing, to increase the awareness of mother-child infections and to educate men to practice safer sex. The "ABC" (abstinence, be faithful, use condoms) for AIDS control was highlighted.

Conclusions and recommendations
Since both culture and education play a major role in health—both in prevention and treatment—when speaking of health, we must never forget the diverse ways of living and doing. We must also think of promoting those cultural practices, which help to improve people's health and stop or eradicate those practices that harm health. For this education is essential.

It became clear from the presentations that, while respect for culture is important, it is not all-important: Cultural practices have a tremendous impact on the health of the people, but there are certain practices, such as female genital mutilation, that are harmful and simply must be stopped. Girl-children should receive priority: they are often responsible for maintaining the family unity and traditions, and for raising the future generation.

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