Panafrican News Agency - December 13, 2001

In an interview with PANA in Ouagadougou during the 12th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa (ICASA), Montagnier, said he believed in the proverb "heaven helps those who help themselves".

The French discoverer of HIV asked African leaders to honour the pledges they made during the summit in Abuja, Nigeria to allocate 15 percent of their budgets to health and to make AIDS control a priority.

"There must be political will to control the pandemic", he said, stressing the need to emulate countries which have made considerable efforts in HIV/AIDS control.

He also recalled the proposal he made in Abuja for the rapid creation of a Global Fund against AIDS, whose funds must be used to buy drugs and assist people living with HIV/AIDS.

Prof. Montagnier urged researchers to develop less costly treatments to ease the suffering of patients in the South, since triple therapy does not cure the disease, is long and difficult to tolerate.

He also encouraged African people living with AIDS to form non- governmental organisations which would "play a significant role in facilitating access to drugs" and exerting pressure on African governments to improve things.

Montagnier stressed the need to find alternatives to triple therapy, noting that the ongoing experiment at CIRBA in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, was encouraging.

Under this experiment conducted in conjunction with a Japanese pharmaceutical company, patients undergo intensive treatment with fermented papaws for between six and 12 months.

"This treatment has positive effects on patients", he said, adding that there were other African plants with similar properties.

Although this treatment has not yet been tested, it could lead to substantial reduction in the cost of AIDS treatment, as was the case with tuberculosis, Montagnier explained.

Turning to the neglect of patients in the South by the West, the French scientist said this shows the limits of solidarity in the North, where public opinion and governments no longer considered AIDS as a priority problem.

"I personally support the transfer of technologies", he said, citing the example of the experiment in Abidjan, which showed that it was now possible to carry out research in the South.

The French scientists reminded decision makers in the North that the world was a global village and that they should not allow AIDS and other epidemics to continue ravaging countries in other corners of the world without doing something to curb them.

"There should be solidarity with vested interest", he insisted.

On the significance of ICASA, which ends on Thursday, Montagnier said that such gatherings were important because they enabled researchers to exchange views, acknowledged that at times they could turn into periodical rituals.

According to the French scientist, the conferences also served as platforms to take stock of the evolution of research and continue international mobilisation through the WHO, UNAIDS, UNESCO and other United Nations agencies.
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