South Africa dismisses AIDS policy criticism
By Andrew Quinn (AP)Sat , Aug 19, 10:04 AM ET
South Africa dismissed harsh criticism of its AIDS policy by a top U.N. official "with contempt" on Saturday and said he was no Messiah for Africa's HIV/AIDS crisis.
U.N. special envoy on AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis closed a global conference on Friday with probably the most blistering attack ever on South Africa's "lunatic fringe" approach to AIDS, calling it immoral and ineffective.
Lewis' comments, echoed by other speakers at the Toronto conference, represented a diplomatic broadside against President Thabo Mbeki's government, which faces one of the world's biggest HIV/AIDS caseloads. (italics HB)
About five million people, or one in nine South Africans, are infected. (sic)
Health Ministry spokesman Sibani Mngadi issued a statement on Saturday rejecting Lewis' speech "with contempt."
"Lewis is not Africa's Messiah," Mngadi said, detailing South African accomplishments on AIDS including the distribution of millions of free condoms and a free drug program ( *not* ARVs) that now reaches more than 175,000 infected people.
"What Africa needs now is not unsubstantiated attack on democratically elected governments, but delivery on the many resolutions made with regard to addressing poverty and underdevelopment which increases the vulnerability of our population to disease," Mngadi said.
Hola Sr. Hank
You and Sr. Liam rightly cry the answer to African AIDS is “water, food, infrastructure, development, investment” over social engineering and indirect genocide.
This guy’s apolitical small science, low tech, biotech approach described on the following series of links is a prototype, but few are listening.
http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/CaltechNews/articles/v39/sato.html
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/11/14/desert_saint?mode=PF
http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/manzanar/default.htm
http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2004/11/20041124_b_main.asp
http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_051119k.cfm
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/sato.htm
Any hope for progress on this problem will have to be done by the usual quiet, self-sacrificing and dedicated minority who have pulled things out down through history from the idiocy of the powers that be and the masses that follow them. The current approaches of governments, and those like Billy (Gates) and Willy (Buffet) will only make things worse as they have already proven.
Jose
Posted by: Jose Morelos | August 19, 2006 at 04:07 PM
Welcome Jose!
Good insights -- keep 'em coming.
Hank
Posted by: HankBarnes | August 19, 2006 at 06:17 PM
Hey Jose. Thank you!
The links to the work of Dr. Sato in Africa are inspiring. My own personal opinion, is that wherever there is "apathy", or a sense of helplessness or hopelessness, life will not sustain itself. Much of the third world's poorer peoples live in this self fulfilling state of being. When one is only looking at the hopelessness of a situation, they can not see the possibilities of other options.
In South Africa, it is wonderful to see the great minds of men such as Mandela, Mbeki, Mngadi, and others, rise up against that tide of apathy, to lift their people beyond it. And fortunately, these gifted men have an inner sight that shows them more possibilities than just the "war mentality" of bodily treatments that much of traditional science and medicine of the west offers.
Posted by: Michael | August 22, 2006 at 11:30 AM
Stephen Lewis is a sincere Canadian socialist do gooder - the most dangerous kind of person. Lewis, unfortunately, cannot get it through his head that medicine, science and the health bureaucracy are highly vulnerable to bias.
Failure to check original research has proven to be deadly.
Posted by: Croft Woodruff | November 17, 2006 at 11:42 PM