Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Fri, 31 Aug 2001
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U.S. Should Allocate More Dollars for U.N. AIDS Fund, Editorial Says
Senate Democrats' proposal last month to allocate $100 million this
year and an additional $150 million next year to the U.N. Global AIDS
and Health Fund is "shocking" and "appalling," given the scope of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, an Eugene Register-Guard editorial states. Al-
though the House's proposal of $750 million for the fund is "cer-
tainly ... more generous," the editorial says that even it is "still
far short of the billions of dollars that this nation should be com-
mitting to wage all-out war on a disease that already has killed more
people than World War II and has cost the world $500 billion in lost
productivity and medical expenses." Congress and the Bush admini-
stration "must lead the way" in providing funds for the U.N. plan,
but "the real problem is that officials in Washington ... have yet to
fully grasp the magnitude of the AIDS pandemic and the absolute ne-
cessity for the international community to wage a holy war against
it," the editorial states. The editorial notes, "AIDS seems a far
more prudent and effective investment than, say, a $100 billion mis-
sile defense system that won't work." The editorial concludes, "The
question is not whether the war against AIDS can be won. It's
whether the United States and the nations of the world will provide
the necessary resources -- and resolve" (Eugene Register-Guard,
8/28).
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Lancet Editorial Examines the Politics of HIV/AIDS in South Africa
While decisions about how to treat people with HIV/AIDS have "never
been a simple clinical matter alone," two court cases currently un-
derway in South Africa "illustrate the extremes of opinion" and can
"tell us something interesting about the politics" of the disease, a
Lancet editorial says. The first case involves a "coalition of
groups," including the Treatment Action Campaign, that is suing South
African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and the nine provin-
cial health ministers for failing to provide nevirapine to HIV-
positive pregnant women in the public sector and for not planning or
implementing a "nationwide comprehensive program" to prevent vertical
HIV transmission. Although private sector doctors are able to pre-
scribe nevirapine, the government has continually stated that more
studies on the drug are needed before it will endorse widescale use
in the public sector, citing concerns over the development of nevi-
rapine-resistant HIV strains and the toxicity of the drug. Also, the
government says transmission can occur during breastfeeding despite
taking nevirapine. The editorial says that "[n]one of these reasons
justifies the government's position." Further, the editorial argues
that by refusing to allow public sector doctors to prescribe drugs
that prevent mother-to-child transmission, the South African govern-
ment is "discriminating against African men, women and children who
rely on public care." Another case, in which Annet Hayman is suing
Glaxo Wellcome SA and alleging that her husband died in 1998 because
of the "cellular toxicity" of zidovudine, "echoes the concerns of the
government" about drug toxicity. In court papers, Hayman also argues
that AZT "has no proven anti-HIV effects" to counter "its proven pro-
found cellular toxicity." The editorial says that while HIV/AIDS "is
a tragedy for every family it affects," there is "no time to indulge
in the luxury of wondering about the side effects of antiretrovi-
rals." The editorial concludes, "AIDS is already wiping out one gen-
eration of South Africans; if the government does not act quickly,
another generation will be lost" (Lancet, 9/1).
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The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org,
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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