Bloggang.com : : MafiaTeam : MISS UNIVERSE TAKES HIV TEST TO BOOST AWARENESS

MISS UNIVERSE TAKES HIV TEST TO BOOST AWARENESS

July 5, 2005

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A perfectly groomed Miss Universe took an AIDS test in a Johannesburg hospital on Tuesday and said she hoped her fame would persuade others to do the same.

Immaculate in a white suit, heels, low-cut top and a glittering smile, Russian-born Canadian Natalie Glebova said she wanted to use her time as the world's most famous beauty queen to raise awareness and fight stigma surrounding the pandemic.

"I think the fact that I had a public test will speak volumes," the 23-year-old motivational speaker said with a smile to cameras. "It will encourage a lot of young women to get out and get tested."

South Africa is battling the world's highest caseload of people with HIV, with more than 5 million people infected. Fear surrounding the disease is so deep that public revelation of HIV infection often leaves sufferers socially ostracised and sometimes subject to violent attack.

The country is the first stop on Glebova's global tour as an ambassador for the fight against AIDS and includes visits to clinics in city slums and rural villages.

Glebova, who said she knew little about HIV until she was crowned in May, will also visit tiny Swaziland, which has one of the world's highest HIV rates, at almost 40 percent of adults.

Patients in the Johannesburg hospital ward looked on baffled as Glebova, towering above them in crocodile-skin heels, posed for cameras while a nurse pricked her finger for the simple test.

Glebova said she was willing to go public with her status, but clinic staff said they did not have the legal right to release the results.

"Some of the nurses told me she is a beauty queen and I think it is helping people to have famous people talking about AIDS," said 29-year-old Virginia Zuma, an HIV-positive patient. "You must talk about it -- it helps you get free."

Create Date : 21 กรกฎาคม 2548

Last Update : 21 กรกฎาคม 2548 10:24:48 น.

0 comments

Counter : 393 Pageviews.