HIV/AIDS specialist advises security forces

Security forces in Zambia have been urged to address gender and sexuality issues when tackling HIV/AIDS, local newspaper The Post reported on Monday. The Zambian Integrated Health Programme's (ZIHP) HIV/AIDS specialist, Simon Mutonyi, said gender roles and relations had greatly influenced the course and impact of the local HIV/AIDS pandemic. "The social pressures which demand that males show their masculinity by their sexual virility has only increased their own vulnerability towards HIV infection," Mutonyi said. He called on service men and women to be agents of change within their respective communities by confronting cultural and traditional beliefs which inhibit the prevention of HIV/AIDS.