Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504030039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANN DONAHUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Maria Helena Bittencourt Westrupp and Zuleica Maria Patricio are adjunct professors at a federal university in southern Brazil. They are at the forefront of AIDS education and research in their state, Santa Catarina, which has the second-highest number of AIDS cases in Brazil.
While the women noted many similarities in the treatment of AIDS in the United States and Brazil, they saw two major differences.
Unlike the United States, the government of Brazil does not fund AIDS research.
``The government is not doing anything yet,'' Patricio said through a translator. ``People in government - they do not have the conscience to see that it is a serious problem.''
The women try to sponsor AIDS education in Brazil in a way that does not raise the ire of the church in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. The Catholic Church bans artificial forms of birth control.
``The church has a lot of power,'' Westrupp said through a translator.
Patricio said that some of the more liberal priests in the region have recognized the threat of AIDS and now allow condom use.
Patricio was surprised by the reluctance of some Americans to have sex education taught to young children in schools.
``They were surprised that parents can opt out in the U.S.,'' said Margaret Basset, president of Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society at Radford University that sponsored the conference at the Sheraton Inn in Roanoke.
``In Virginia, it is a little different in terms of prevention,'' Patricio said. In Brazil, ``We're already [at an early age] trying to educate about sexuality and drugs.''
Brazil has the second-largest number of reported AIDS cases in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States. By the end of 1994, more than 50,000 people in Brazil had AIDS. More than one-third of those had died, according to the World Health Organization.
Westrupp has worked closely with one of the first female AIDS activists in Brazil. She said a forthcoming movie to be shown on Brazilian television will focus on the woman, who has been HIV positive for eight years. The film will highlight the discrimination she faced when she learned she was infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The woman lost her job and was threatened with having her children taken away.
``She has made lots of effort to help those with AIDS in the community,'' Westrupp said.
Westrupp also develops support groups for people with AIDS and their families in Brazil.
``I show them their rights as members of a family and community,'' Westrupp said.
Both women are enrolled in a doctorate program in nursing in Santa Catarina. They were brought to the United States as a result of efforts of the Virginia Partners of the Americas. Virginia and Santa Catarina are sister states that exchange professionals to facilitate understanding between the regions
Westrupp and Patricio spoke to about 150 nurses and nursing students from Radford University and Lynchburg College.
``At this moment we would like to reaffirm our happiness to be here with you,'' Westrupp said. ``The American culture has been a very important experience to us in relation to professional and personal life, especially when you consider health a quality of life.''
by CNB