To use or not to use a condom for sexual intercourse is the result of a combination of several interacting factors. From the rational decision to choose not to use condoms to that of not being able to choose to use them, there is a broad range of possible accounts.
Addressing poor condom use therefore is not a question of simply promoting them but a question of knowing and understanding these numerous factors, their interactions and additive effects and ultimately understanding what leads people to do what they do or can do in their individual situation with their own perspectives, understanding, resources and options.
Globalisation has been the buzzword of the roaring nineties and with the fall of the Berlin’s wall, the end of the cold war and the victory of capitalism over socialism it has opened a new era in human history. Rightly or not, globalisation has become synonymous with market economy, capitalism and development. Much discussions, books and movies have placed it at the centre of the debate about the future of development with a “New Deal” or a “New Barbarism” as two possible scenarios. As the Washington Consensus is being challenged by the Geneva Consensus, the possibility of a sustainable globalisation, conducive to social justice, human security and environmental protection, being an unrealisable goal is a question of great contemporary interest. To address this question we will examine how globalisation affects social justice, human security and the environment. We will then introduce different views and responses to the globalisation process, which when integrated altogether will provide a framework to answer the question of realizing a sustainable globalisation. Read the rest of this entry »
Several factors are important in determining if the HIV virus can be passed from an infected person to another one. These include biological and social factors which both relate to the exposed and the “infector” individuals.
This conceptual framework summarises only the biological factors that influence HIV transmission. When assessing the risk of infection, each should be considered in turn and as a whole.
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A conceptual framework for understanding the diseases of poverty. Despite tremendous technological and scientific progresses in the understanding of diseases and their management, millions of people in the developing world still die of preventable infections and food scarcity whilst millions of other in the developped world die of diseases of opulence and excess.
HIV prevention goes far beyond the simplistic ABC message that hijacks most of the media attention. This figure tries to illustrate the breadth and diversity of the field of HIV prevention (Click to enlarge). It would still need to be further expanded to really cover all the aspects of an ever growing field.
SYFA (Save Your Future Association) was founded in 2001 by Farmer Tantoh Nforba and is located in Nkambe, North West Province of Cameroon.
SYFA works with local farmers, youths and children on environmental protection, organic agriculture and home gardening and currently coordinates the activities of 10 environmental groups at local schools, churches and the prison
The project was to create a new website for SYFA that would provide a better window into the work of Farmer Tantoh

Farmer Tantoh training students from the agricultural school in Nkambe the importance of botanical gardens in rural communities
Since its inauguration, SYFA has helped to prove numerous compounds (houses) in the Binju neighbourhood of Nkambe, as well as designing many gardens at churches, schools and administrative buildings.
“Farmer” Tantoh is from Nkambe, Cameroon. He studied at the Regional College of Agriculture, in Bambili, Cameroon, where his field of study was Agriculture and Rural Development. He specialized in spring water catchments’ protection using sustainable agro-forestry practices.
Tantoh has worked with local youths and low-income farmers, introducing lawn creation and flower gardening and also organic farming techniques adaptable to the tropics thereby protecting the local environment.
Achievement: The SYFA website is up and running since mid-June 2007.
GMFA was founded in 1992, by a group of gay men who felt that there was not enough HIV prevention work being specifically targeted at gay men. GMFA‘s mission is to improve gay men’s health by increasing the control they have over their own lives.
As a volunteer since 2008, I contribute to the design of information booklets and to the content of GMFA magazine “Fit and Sexy”.
Since 2003 volunteer and chair (2003-2006) of the Community Fundraising Committee of The Food Chain whose mission is to improve the health and well being of London’s population living with HIV by alleviating hunger and malnutrition.
The Food Chain is a UK registered charity delivering meals every week to more than 500 users across London, free of charge, since 1988. Every Sunday, Food Chain volunteers prepare and deliver delicious, nutritionally balanced, individually tailored meals and groceries to people who, because of their illness, are housebound and unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
The academic year 2007 started with a “Time Bomb” uncovered by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI): student in England are having it the easy way with an average of 26 hours a week spent studying compared to 30 in Ireland, 35 in France and 41 in Portugal. Variations are wide depending on the subject but with less than 15 hours of tuition a week, fears and concerns are raised that Higher Education is going down the drain and will have serious academic consequences for the future of Science in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »