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. __________________________________ http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/news/7oclocknews/features/aids_220903.shtm l いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい