Fight against child sex tourism needs a boost

April 28, 2011 · Posted in cholesterol too low · Comment 

MOMBASA, Kenya (IRIN) – When police in Kenya’s coastal tourist city of Mombasa conduct night raids, it is not unusual for a large number of sex workers arrested to be under 18.

The government faces a struggle to end a trade that many young girls see as a fast way out of poverty and into a more glamorous life.

Munirah* spends her days looking for customers at the city’s Kenyatta Public Beach. Just 15, she already has one child and is the sole breadwinner for her household.

“My widowed mother lost both her hands while working at a steel processing factory in Mombasa, forcing me to do what I am doing,” she told IRIN/PlusNews.

Munirah says she has been selling sex for six months and has already slept with several men, mainly tourists. Most of her clients prefer sex without a condom. When asked if she was aware of the risks of HIV, she shrugged and admitted she had never been for an HIV test.

According to Grace Odembo, a field coordinator with the NGO, Solidarity with Women in Distress, SOLWODI, many of the girls on the streets have limited formal education and therefore little chance of gainful legal employment.

She said “beach boys” – young men who hang around the beaches – acted as pimps for tourists seeking young girls and were paid handsome commissions, fuelling the cycle of child sex work.

“This large number of small girls you see loitering along the beaches looking for wazungu [white men] and even those engaging in legitimate businesses such as selling curios… they fall prey to beach boys who [tell] them they’ll be introduced to perfect rich suitors, only to have them end up in the arms of sex pests instead,” Odembo said.

According to a 2006 study by the government and the UN Children’s Fund, as many as 30 percent of teenage girls in the coastal towns of Diani, Kilifi, Malindi and Mombasa were involved in casual sex work. More than 10 percent of girls began transactional sex before the age of 12.

The study also found that 35.5 percent of all sex acts involving children and tourists took place without condoms.

In 2004, Kenya introduced the “Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism” to create awareness and prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children. However, the code seems to have done little to deter tourists seeking sex with minors.

Members of Kenya’s tourism sector say poverty is the main reason young girls turn to sex work, and why it is so difficult to fight the phenomenon.

“The parents, most of whom happen to be poor, instead encourage their daughters [to sell sex] so as to supplement their family earnings,” said Titus Kangangi, chairman of the Kenya Association of Hoteliers. “In many cases, a guardian sides with the accused whenever sexual abuse charges are brought.”

Out of court settlements are the norm in such cases, with tourists paying off families of young girls to avoid jail terms.

Action needed

Tourism Minister Najib Balala told IRIN/PlusNews it was important to rid the coast of its reputation of a haven for child sex tourism.

“This embarrassing tag must be dealt with right from the community level; it is a cartel that needs so much attention if we have to win,” he said. “It has cost the region and country credible tourists and investors, who now see the country as a sex destination.”

Balala said the government was putting more effort into adhering to the code of conduct by cancelling the business licences of establishments allowing tourists to check in with underage girls.

SOLWODI counsels young women and offers alternative incomes through microfinance loans. However, its resources are limited and for many girls, the small loans from NGOs are no match for the income they earn from wealthy tourists.

Poverty is key

Odembo said the government needed to be more vigilant in keeping young girls off the streets. “The government needs to come up with enough rescue centres within the region,” she said. “They should also get to the bottom of why a child found loitering in the beach isn’t attending school.”

According to James Weru, programmes director for the NGO, African Pro-poor Tourism Development Centre , tackling poverty is key to ending child sex tourism.

“Tourism is one of Kenya’s biggest income earners, but less than 20 percent of this income trickles down to local economies and as a result, locals remain very poor,” he said. “The government needs to spread the income out to benefit the locals so that there is less temptation to go into sex work.”

He noted that it would also be important to enforce adherence to the code of conduct and to back this up with serious legal consequences for defaulters.

“We also need to carry out education for tourists and ensure that we are getting the right kind of tourists,” Weru added. “Many governments have lists of paedophiles who are blacklisted from entering their countries, but we have no such measures in Kenya.”

jk/kr/mw

*Only one name used to protect the child’s identity

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

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‘Good cholesterol’ nanoparticles may help fight cancer

April 2, 2011 · Posted in cholesterol foods · Comment 

New research, including an Indian-origin boffin, suggests that ‘good cholesterol’ (High-density lipoprotein) can act as a special delivery vehicle of destruction for cancer.

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Fight High Cholesterol With Vitamins And Over The Counter Products

July 6, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

More that a million Americans die of heart disease each year. One of the major causes of this heart disease the high cholesterol levels in the blood.


Cholesterol plays a central role in many biochemical processes, but is best known for the association of cardiovascular disease with high levels of

cholesterol in the blood.


Konrad Bloch and Feodor Lynen shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1964 for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of the cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism.


Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol) and a lipid found in the cell membranes of all body tissues. It is transported in the blood plasma of all animals. The average amount of blood cholesterol varies with age, typically rising gradually until one is about 60 years old.


In recent years, the somewhat imprecise term “bad cholesterol” has been used to refer to LDL (low density lipoprotein) which, according to the lipid hypothesis, is thought to have harmful actions, and “good cholesterol” to refer to HDL (high-density lipoprotein), thought to have beneficial actions.


The American Heart Association provides a set of guidelines for total blood cholesterol levels and risk for heart disease. The desirable LDL level is considered to be less than 100 mg/dl. However the 1987 report of National Cholesterol Education Program suggest the total blood cholesterol level should be less than 200 mg/dl normal blood cholesterol, if the cholesterol level is between 200 and 239 mg/dl it is considered borderline-high, and higher than 240 mg/dl is considered high cholesterol level.


Conditions with elevated concentrations of oxidized LDL particles are associated with fatty deposits forming on the walls of arteries, a condition known as Arteriosclerosis, which is considered the principal cause of coronary heart disease and other forms of cardiovascular disease.


In contrast, however, if LDL particle number is low and a large percentage of the HDL particles are high, then fatty deposits forming on the walls of the arteries are usually low, and can even be negative, for any given total cholesterol concentration.


Cholesterol is found in animal fats: all food containing animal fats contains cholesterol. Plants have trace amounts of cholesterol, so even a Vegan diet, which includes no animal foods, has traces of cholesterol.


Cholesterol is not necessarily dietary in origin, it can be turned into cholesterol by the liver from unburned food metabolites. The liver converts unburned food metabolites into very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and secretes them into plasma where they are converted to low-density lipoprotein LDL) particles and fatty acids, which can affect other body cells. There appear to be seasonal variations in cholesterol levels in humans because of the unburned food metabolites the amount of cholesterol is higher in winter.


Cholesterol is required to build and maintain cell membranes; it regulates membrane fluidity over a wider range of temperatures. Cholesterol also aids in the manufacture of bile (which stored in the gallbladder and helps digest fats), and is also important for the metabolism of fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K.


Cardiologists suggest that the public need to change its diet. To reduce cholesterol levels by lowering saturated animal fats and increasing polyunsaturated fats. Lowering cholesterol is a good start but it is far from all that is needed.


Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with High Cholesterol such as Vitamin C, Lecithin, Pectin, Garlic, EPA, Niacin and Phytosterols.


Vitamin C has been shown to combat the development of cholesterol deposits in the arteries. Within a few hours after receiving vitamin C patients showed a sharp decline in the cholesterol levels of the blood.


Lecithin has the potential to protect against fat clogged arteries when take daily.


Pectin limits the amount of cholesterol the body can absorb. High pectin count in apples may be why “One a day keeps the doctor away”.


Garlic counteract the usual result of high fats in the diet and to help reduce high blood pressure.


Studies of the Greenland Eskimos lack of heart attacks have show that Eico-Sapentaenoic Acid (EPA) lowers blood cholesterol considerably, even more than polyunsaturated fat does. It also triggers a major drop in triglycerides. Salmon Oil is one of the best known sources of natural EPA.


Niacin is the closest thing available to a perfect treatment that corrects most causes of coronary heart disease. Niacin blocks the release of fatty acids from fat cells. Niacin plays a critical role in energy production, gene expression, and hormone synthesis. You cannot live without it. Niacin also tends to shift LDL particle distribution to larger particle size and improve HDL functioning. The intake of 3 grams Niacin for as little as two weeks can reduce serum cholesterol by 26 percent.


Phytosterols is found in flax seed and peanuts, which are suggested to help lower serum cholesterol.


Always consult your doctor before using this information.


This Article is nutritional in nature and not to be construed as medical advice.

David F. Cowley has created over 50 articles about the relationship between diseases and vitamins. For other Articles on Diseases and Vitamin Needs feel free to visit my Web Site at http://www.dfcinvestment-team.com

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