I was very thankful for the gratifying response to my recent series of articles on HIV/AIDS in Africa. Some people rightly asked me why I have tended to concentrate on the problems affecting this continent rather than our own and Asia. Well, there are two reasons. In the West, AIDS is slowly evolving from an exotic plague to a normal and treatable disease. Since 1997, the number of people dying from the disease in the West is actually falling instead of rising. The number of deaths in the United States first half of 1996 was 13% below that for the same period in 1995. In France, the decline was greater, at some 25%. Moreover, even in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, deaths from AIDS dropped significantly. It would be foolish of me to assume that after years of official pleas in the West for people to change their behaviour to reduce exposure to the disease, the message finally got through. What has happened is that the advent of drugs that slow the HIV virus from replicating has greatly improved. Our medical staff can also treat opportunistic infections that take advantage of the patient's weakened immune system better. Unfortunately, we cannot be complacent. Our Government's inability to address the growing numbers of newly diagnosed HIV patients coming into this country from sub Saharan Africa is totally scandalous. My attitude towards treating this growing problem by using the same scientific logic that is practised in other parts of the world is by now well known and I personally feel that the humanistic approach to this problem by well meaning doctors and some medical journalists may leave future generations in potential danger. We can only hope our future children do not judge our ineptitude too harshly.
Regarding Asia, I have already stated that we have to closely monitor HIV development in this continent, especially India (Cutting Edge Dec 6th 2002) as it is the next disaster-in-waiting. Already, 7m Asians are infected and India's close to a billion people are becoming increasingly vulnerable. The Indian rural population is now under treat as a recent study showed that Tamil Nadu, one of India's smallest states has 500,000 people infected. Literally translated, this is over 2% of rural people presently HIV-positive. We should learn our lesson from China, where the Government tried to cover up a growing HIV/AIDS self inflicted scandal to their detriment.
Africa has been hit harder by the HIV/AIDS virus than any other region of the world. 30 million Africans have HIV and AIDS has so far killed 17 million people in the world's poorest continent. This is more than the casualties from all the wars of the last century. Every day in Africa alone: HIV/AIDS kills 6,500 people and 9,500 people are infected with the HIV virus. It is estimated that each day 1,400 newborn babies are infected during childbirth or by their mothers' milk. In Africa, the disease is presently spreading like chemical warfare along the gentle breezes of the Savannah and further beyond. I write about this region as I personally feel that this virus poses the biggest single threat to humanity since the bubonic plague in the middle ages. I have also lived there and I feel a special affiliation with these poor people.
Realistically, there are 11 million AIDS orphans in Africa and unless we take serious action now, there will be over 20 million by the end of the decade. I have seen entire villages in countries like Malawi where there are only grandparents and their grandchildren and this virus has stripped out entire generations. Can you imagine going into the West of Ireland and facing only feeble children and haggled elderly people, instead of comely maidens wandering in desolation at the crossroads? That is the reality of Africa, where entire communities have been stripped of their doctors, their nurses, their businessmen, and even their farmers. It is not an exaggeration to say that parents are dying before they can pass farming skills on to their children leaving behind a total generation who now do not know how to plant crops in order to feed themselves. Current life expectancy in countries like Zambia has dropped to under 30 years, over 50% of new infections are now young people, and 66% of new infections are young women. While, as Christians we should be compelled to act to help our fellow human beings, it is also in our interests, as we will soon have a situation where young orphans will wander aimlessly, homeless and hungry, with the only obvious means of income being by resorting to prostitution or burglary. With the accumulation of guns left over from the ongoing wars in the northern central and western nations reaching the equation, it will not be long before we have developed another breeding grounds for terrorists.
Nearly seven thousand Africans are now dying every day because of a preventable and a treatable disease. The case against AIDS is not a humanitarian cause; it is in reality a medical emergency. In addition, to make it worse, the plague already has a twenty-year head start on whatever we are going to do.
So, what can we do to prevent this meltdown into an African apocalypse?
I will deal with the political dimension of how to deal with this crisis in next week's column. If you want to help these suffering people now!, there is something happening next week that will give you the opportunity to pledge something towards the people of this sad and unfortunate land. "46664 - The Concert" takes place at Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town on November 29th. It will be broadcast on the internet live and on MTV globally on World AIDS Day. You may already know that 46664 was the prison number of Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, Cape Town where he was held in captivity for 18 years. Nelson gave his prison number 46664 to Dave Stewart of Eurythmics in November of last year who then asked the late Joe Strummer to write lyrics for a song that included the prison number. Stewart then completed the song with Bono earlier this year. Further recording sessions began in March when Stewart was joined by Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor to lay down tracks in collaboration with some of South Africa's premiere musicians. Anastacia, The Neptunes, Johnny Clegg, Beyonce, Ms Dynamite, Roger Taylor, Paul McCartney, Paul Oakenfold, and Timbaland will perform.
You will have the opportunity to make a difference by participating in the largest ever global call-in, a global petition for action and global webcast. Celebrities from all over the world, such as David Bowie, Robert De Niro, Pink, Shakira, and Britney Spears are all recording messages to encourage public participation.
In Ireland all telephone users can call a premium line using the number 1580 715715 with the Nelson Mandela Foundation being the ultimate beneficiary. The Foundation will apply funds raised in its work, which provides key services on AIDS in South Africa where 25 per cent of the population has HIV.
The 46664 campaign is calling for:
• people to join a global petition via local call-in numbers on which they can hear songs written by contributing artists, contribute directly to the fight against AIDS in Africa, and be directed to the 46664 website to hear more music; purchase exclusive 46664 tracks; download ringtones; make donations and leave their email addresses.
• all governments to declare a global AIDS emergency. This means developed country governments must give much more money to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, and the global community should strive to get 3 million people living with AIDS on lifesaving anti-retrovirals by 2005.
Notes on HIV/AIDS in Africa:
There are currently 11 million AIDS orphans in Africa - unless we take urgent action now, there will be at least 25 million by the end of the decade.
Of the 30 million Africans affected, 4.1 million are going to die in the near-term unless they get access to affordable treatment. Only 50,000 Africans are currently on Anti-Retroviral drugs (ARVs).
Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, has called for at least $10 billion a year to fight Global AIDS - last year, the international community spent under half of this. By 2005, at least $15 billion will be needed.
The World Health Organisation has called for 3 million people in the poorest countries to be put on life-saving anti-retrovirals by 2005. This will be impossible unless much more money, and much cheaper medicines are both made available on an emergency basis.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria needs $3bn for next year to fund life-saving programmes in Africa and other poor regions. Currently, there is less than $900 million in pledges from donor countries.
Give 1 minute of your life to Stop AIDS. Go online to make a donation at www.46664.com
AIDS STATISTICS
Worldwide:
· More than 42 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS.
· Over 20 million people have already died from HIV/AIDS.
· Everyday 14,000 people become newly infected with HIV.
· Eastern Europe & Central Asia have the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world.
· 95% of people with HIV live in the developing world.
Sub-Saharan Africa:
· Sub-Saharan Africa is the worst affected region in the world, where 29.4 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.
· Approximately 3.5 million new infections occurred there in 2002, while the epidemic claimed the lives of an estimated 2.4 million Africans in the past year.
· 77% of young people living with HIV/AIDS are living in sub-Saharan Africa.
· The majority of persons living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (58%) are women.
· In four countries in sub-Saharan Africa, at least one in four adults is now living with HIV/AIDS.
· The fastest spread of HIV/AIDS among youth is in Sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 8.6 million youth (67% female) are infected.
South Africa:
· South Africa is the country with the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS. An estimated 5 million people are infected with the epidemic.
· One in 5 adults are living with HIV/AIDS.
· In 12 years, HIV prevalence rose from less than one per cent to more than 20%.
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