Chicago Tribune - December 31, 2001

Yet the government of South African President Thabo Mbeki inexplicably keeps denying South Africans the government attention, access to drugs, and educational programs that offer the only real chance of success against this plague.

Now he is doing that again. Mbeki's government has announced its challenge to a Pretoria High Court order to widen access to the AIDS drug nevirapine, which has been proven to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV during pregnancy by up to 50 percent. Mbeki, mistrustful of drugs developed in the U.S. and Europe, is unconvinced.

Mbeki lives on a continent inhabited by over two-thirds of the world's people infected with HIV/AIDS--more than 28 million. One in nine South Africans is infected, and AIDS is the largest killer of adults. What more evidence does he need that the potential benefits of nevirapine, or any other anti-AIDS medications, greatly outweigh the risks he still imagines exist with such drugs?

Mbeki's government claims the Pretoria case involves a constitutional issue, that the court order may infringe on its right to determine and set national policy.

But Mbeki is defending the indefensible. The effect of that policy has been to sow uncertainty about the disease. In South Africa, uncertainty about the AIDS epidemic can be fatal, because it perpetuates unsafe sex, risky behavior, even child rape by men who have been told by traditional healers that sex with a virgin cures AIDS. Critics correctly charge that his government's actions are tantamount to imposing a death sentence on thousands of babies who might otherwise be safe from infected mothers.

South Africa has taken some steps to battle this disease, and it is poised to do more. The government spends billions on treatment of infections arising with HIV/AIDS patients. It offers testing and counseling in public hospitals. It provides 250 million free condoms a year.

But under Mbeki, the government has come under justified criticism for its haphazard, often confusing approach. Mbeki in the past has questioned the widely accepted link between HIV and AIDS. He has also repeatedly called anti-retroviral drug therapy toxic. And his government has stopped short of providing many anti-retroviral drugs now used widely in the U.S. and Europe.

The denial does not stop there. Mbeki also has disputed statistics showing an alarming recent increase in rape as exaggerated. South Africa is now believed to have the highest frequency of rape in the world: One woman is raped every 26 seconds, according to human rights groups. With the AIDS epidemic, that's a death sentence for many victims. Worse, the incidence of "baby rape" is becoming rampant. On a recent weekend, police in Cape Town said they dealt with 37 cases in just one night. And across the nation, schoolgirls are frequently gang-raped.

South Africa's plight demands unequivocal leadership--not denial and uncertainty--about AIDS, rape and the cataclysmic problems related to those scourges.

Other South African leaders are showing impatience. Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of Cape Town, declared of AIDS this month: "Drugs must be available. It is silly to hold on to positions that are untenable. The president's position is undermining his stature in the world."

The unmoved Mbeki remains in deep denial. Meanwhile, his people suffer and die.
011231
CT011205

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2001. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .