The 7 O'Clock News
Aids: All talk no action?




 "I'm enraged by the behaviour of the rich powers... how much more
grievous - by their neglect - they have made the situation in Africa."
Stephen Lewis, the UN secretary-general's special envoy on HIV/Aids.


 As nation heads gather in Kenya for the International Conference on
Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), many wonder
whether the world is losing the battle against the epidemic. One thing
is for sure, there's a growing feeling among most African officials that
the West has deserted them on this matter.


 The hard truth
Whether Mr Lewis' anger is well placed or not, the painful truth is that
an estimated 42 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that
causes Aids, with the hardest hit continent being Africa with 30 million
sufferers.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected, with approximately 3.5
million new infections in 2002. It's thought that almost 3 million
children are living with HIV which means the worst of the virus' impact
on these societies is yet to come, with untold social and economic
consequences.

Amazingly, Aids is nowhere near to being the world's most deadly
disease. Influenza, spread through a simple sneeze, kills thousands
every year. Malaria threatens most of the developing world with over 300
million clinical cases every year resulting in 1.5 to 2.7 million
deaths.


 Solutions?
The most effective treatment involves a concoction of anti-retroviral
drugs, which slow down the HIV infection, allowing people to live longer
with the virus.

Last month, The World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed to allow
developing countries like Kenya and South Africa, which have no
pharmaceutical industries, to ignore patent rights and import cheaper
generic medicines.

But poor administration is causing problems for many countries: "We have
the drugs for developing nations [but] we've got to help build their
infrastructure. This is vital," says US pioneer of HIV/Aids research,
Professor Robert Gallo.

But despite all these difficulties there have been success stories,
according to a UN report.


 Their study compared and contrasted countries with an effective
national anti-Aids plan, like Malawi, with weaker ones like Kenya, where
cheaper drugs are not widely available.

Key points in the report are:


The biggest concern about HIV/Aids is in southern Africa. In Botswana,
for example, nearly 40% of the adult population is HIV positive.


It sounds an alarm for pregnant women in southern Africa. The WHO found
that more than one in five tested at the end of 2002 had the Aids virus.


The situation in East Africa is improving. The overall prevalence of
HIV/Aids there "is slowly declining," the report said.


Praise was lavished on several countries in West Africa, which has the
lowest prevalence rate of Africa's sub regions.


 As the summit proceeds there is still a question on most minds as to
whether money pledged by the rich western nations will be forthcoming.

"We can find over $200bn to fight a war on terrorism, but we can't find
the money... to provide the anti-retroviral treatment for all those who
need such treatment in Africa!" says the UN.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/news/7oclocknews/features/aids_220903.shtm
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