Wall Street Journal - June 21, 2001
Gardiner Harris, Staff Reporter

South African President Thabo Mbeki, who questions whether HIV causes AIDS, is scheduled to visit Merck & Co.'s research labs in West Point, Pa., next week to learn about its HIV-vaccine work.

Mr. Mbeki's doubts about HIV have led to his questioning whether his citizens should bother getting themselves tested for HIV infection, and his subordinates have resisted distributing a free drug that would help prevent the transmission of HIV between an expectant mother and her unborn child.

Some AIDS advocates in South Africa believe Mr. Mbeki's stance has exacerbated the epidemic and slowed efforts to get treatment to the estimated four million people in that country infected with the virus. Mr. Mbeki's government is presently embroiled in an internal debate over whether to spend huge sums on the treatment of the millions infected with HIV in the country or to concentrate efforts on preventing the further spread of the virus.

Merck was instrumental in the development of some of the AIDS drugs that keep the disease in check for millions, and the company is working on a vaccine, too. Mr. Mbeki is interested in talking to Merck's vaccine researchers, said Sheldon Moulton, a spokesman at South Africa's embassy in Washington.

"One of the greatest needs in Africa is prevention of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, which are major obstacles to sustainable development," he said. Mr. Mbeki's trip to the U.S. is intended as a pitch for a development plan for Africa called the Millennium Africa Recovery Plan. He will be meeting with President Bush. During Mr. Mbeki's stay, the United Nations General Assembly will hold a conference devoted exclusively to the issues of AIDS and HIV.

Merck Chairman Raymond V. Gilmartin has been extending an invitation to Mr. Mbeki for years, company spokesman Greg Reaves said. Mr. Gilmartin repeated the invitation to Mr. Mbeki at an economic conference this month in Durban, South Africa. Mr. Mbeki agreed to come.

Write to Gardiner Harris at gardiner.harris@wsj.com1

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