AIDS spread could spark killings
Pastor Dale Morgan
AIDS spread could spark killings*
By Lloyd Jones in Port Moresby
January 30, 2007 12:24pm
Article from: AAP
THE spread of HIV-AIDS in Papua New Guinea could lead to more people
being killed as sorcerers, a cultural expert has warned.
Uninformed villagers often attributed the AIDS-related deaths of younger
adults to sorcery and then launch deadly witch hunts, said Hermann
Spingler, director of the Melanesian Institute in the Eastern Highlands
capital of Goroka.
"It's not a question of what caused the death but who caused it."
Deaths related to sorcery were becoming a weekly occurrence in some
parts of PNG such as Chimbu and Eastern Highlands provinces, said Mr
Spingler.
PNG has the highest incidence of HIV-AIDS in the Pacific region, with
around 2 per cent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive.
AIDS authorities fear that if efforts to prevent the spread of the
disease are not boosted, more than half a million Papua New Guineans
could be living with the virus by 2025.
Lack of education about the disease and stigmas surrounding it remain a
problem in a country where around 85 per cent of the population live in
rural areas.
Mr Spingler, whose institute was set up by four of PNG's main churches
to research cultural issues, said deaths of people aged 16 to 35 were
often attributed to spiritual rather than natural causes.
Accusations of sorcery within clans could lead to witch hunts and the
killings of alleged witches, he said.
"People who get sick from HIV/AIDs, if they don't tell anyone because of
fear of stigmatisation, their deaths could spark witchcraft accusations."
The spread of the disease and resulting AIDS-related deaths could lead
to more claims of sorcery and an increase in violence against women, Mr
Spingler said.
"I feel that could be a problem for this country, especially in those
areas where witchcraft accusations within a clan are prevalent."
Mr Spingler said the Catholic Church in PNG was heavily engaged in
caring for people with HIV-AIDS and such grassroots approaches could
help curb the problem.
But he said HIV-AIDS educational campaigns by the PNG government should
take into account the spiritual views of villagers and not be too
Western-focused.