Washington (H24N). Women in sub-Saharan Africa are mired in a mix of social, economic and cultural issues that makes them nearly defenseless in the war on AIDS.

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), a grassroots, civil rights organization in the United States, recently dedicated itself to improving the lives of women in sub-Saharan Africa, who are highly vulnerable to the spread of AIDS.

"The AIDS epidemic is one of the most daunting hurdles we have addressed in our history," said Dorothy Height, chairman of the National Council of Negro Women. "Women in sub-Saharan Africa have enormous obstacles in their path, and we have no choice but to assist."

Statistics show that one out of every five people in sub-Saharan Africa is HIV-positive, and more than half of those people are women. In their report "A Devastating Tragedy: AIDS in Africa," the NCNW explains that its experiences dealing with enormous civil rights obstacles have motivated the group to lend a hand to African women.

"Although [African women’s] problems may seem initially insurmountable, our experience has proven that progress is possible," Height said.

One of the most difficult barriers to halting the relentless spread of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the NCNW, is a lack of education. United Nations’ statistics show that about 30 percent of all young African women believe that if a man looks healthy that he doesn’t have AIDS.

Another problem, said Height, is the stigma attached to being HIV-positive. Many women are banished from their homes and exiled from their communities once it is discovered that they are infected. For this reason, African women avoid being tested, and agree to have sex without the protection of a condom because they feel this may signal their HIV status to a partner.

The National Council of Negro Women is urging the world’s government, business and community leaders to join forces to come up with effective solutions to the sub-Saharan AIDS epidemic. NCNW says an important first step toward helping Africa is international debt forgiveness so that sub-Saharan countries can use their funds on health and education programs, improving infrastructure and supporting political leaders with vision.

"It is only through a massive cooperative effort to educate people at all levels that real progress can flourish," wrote the authors of the National Council on Negro Women report.

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