Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Fri, 6 Jul 2001
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* Former Zambian Leader Kenneth Kaunda Takes Leadership Against HIV/
AIDS in Africa
* Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Rounds Up Commentary on U.N. Special
Session, Other AIDS-Related Issues
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Former Zambian Leader Kenneth Kaunda Takes Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS in Africa
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda is attempting to "fill the
leadership vacuum" in sub-Saharan Africa in the fight against
HIV/AIDS by mobilizing assistance and education for the continent,
the AP/Dallas Morning News reports. Kaunda "ruled Zambia as a dicta-
tor" for 27 years before calling for free elections in 1991 and "los-
ing in a landslide." However, Kaunda, "affectionately referred to as
KK, remains widely respected" in Zambia, where 1 million of the coun-
try's 9 million people are thought to be HIV-positive. In 1986,
Kaunda's 30-year-old son died from AIDS. The president subsequently
held a news conference "to announce his son had died of the disease,"
something "that remains remarkable even 15 years later on a continent
where AIDS is a secret shame," the AP/Morning News reports. After al-
most 10 years as an opposition leader, Kaunda last year retired from
politics and founded the South Africa-based Kenneth Kaunda Children
of Africa Foundation, which helps AIDS orphans obtain education and
medical care and works to secure HIV/AIDS medications for all Afri-
cans affected by the disease. Kaunda has also traveled around the
world hoping to secure assistance for the fight against the pandemic.
"Our leaders have got to lead us by example. There's no shortcut to
this, none at all. ... Unless we do something about this, we are go-
ing to lose not only the whole nation, but the whole continent," he
said (AP/Dallas Morning News, 7/6).
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Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Rounds Up Commentary on U.N. Special
Session, Other AIDS-Related Issues
In newspapers throughout the country, editorials and op-eds continue
to comment on the U.N. General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS
and other AIDS-related issues. The following is a summary of the com-
ments, arranged by the day of the week the article appeared.
Sunday
* Newsday: The U.N. Declaration of Commitment for fighting HIV/AIDS
is "at once boringly practical and crazily ambitious -- leavened with
occasional flashes of courage," a Newsday editorial states. The dec-
laration is "thoroughly unenforceable. But it serves an indispensable
purpose," the editorial states, adding that it sets forth a "right
way and a wrong way" to fight HIV/AIDS. The document also "ought to
end a silly but debilitating spat" over treatment versus prevention
efforts, the editorial says, noting that the two "go together." As
UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot noted, the declaration serves as
an "instrument of accountability" to hold nations and world leaders
to the pledges made at the conference. "The world will not change its
ideas overnight. Nor will it instantly defeat the onslaught of HIV,"
the editorial states. However, the declaration "was meant for the
long haul -- as a way to shake the world's political leadership out
of its coma, as a way to get the financial pipeline flowing, as a way
to get rural health systems up and running, as a way to increase the
pressure on everyone from global drug companies to the most obscure
health ministers," it concludes (Newsday, 7/1).
* Philadelphia Inquirer: "There is no understating the achievement"
of the U.N. General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, a Philadel-
phia Inquirer editorial states. The declaration is "clear in its de-
mand that an epidemic transmitted largely by sex be faced 'in forth-
right terms'" and "underscores the importance of women's rights in
combatting" the disease, it continues. "Twenty years ago, AIDS began
relentlessly stalking the human race. Last week, perhaps, the human
race began stalking AIDS," the editorial concludes (Philadelphia In-
quirer, 7/1).
* Eugene Register-Guard: "[W]ithout money and commitment, the accom-
plishments of last week's U.N. summit on AIDS will become little more
than an aromatic rhetorical stew," a Eugene Register-Guard editorial
states. However, "[w]hat's needed more than money is the kind of
clarity and resolve that can only come from understanding and outrage
over the growing dimensions of the disaster," it continues. The U.N.
declaration is "bold, unprecedented and specific," the editorial con-
cludes, adding that the world must express the "shared conviction
that confronting the AIDS catastrophe is a global responsibility and
necessity" (Eugene Register-Guard, 7/1).
* Fresno Bee: "It's not yet clear that governments are prepared to
back their words with the funds and effort needed, or that tradi-
tional societies are willing to set aside cultural prejudices to cope
pragmatically with the consequences of behavior that they object to,"
but the U.N. declaration is "heartening" because it "took on some of
those prejudices," a Fresno Bee editorial states. Implementing the
"broad goals" set forth in the document will be "complex and contro-
versial," it continues. But the necessary improvements that must be
made to health care infrastructure in developing countries may have
the "major spinoff benefit" of attracting more foreign investment to
the countries, "providing broader economic gains," the editorial con-
cludes (Fresno Bee, 7/1).
* "The World Must Answer U.N.'s Challenge on AIDS": It is in the "na-
tional interest" of the United States to "encourage stable govern-
ments in the developing world, to eradicate poverty, to conquer dis-
ease. More importantly, it is in our human interest to push anyone we
can, starting perhaps with religious congregations and our circles of
business and social acquaintances, to address the international AIDS
crisis," New York Daily News columnist E.R. Shipp writes. "Africans
must do their part, but the United States must clearly do more than
provide what Secretary of State Colin Powell described as seed money
for the global fund" to fight the epidemic, she concludes (Shipp, New
York Daily News, 7/1).
* "One Deadly Enemy We Know How to Defeat": "[P]athetically little"
was said at the U.N. special session about how to stop the spread of
HIV, nationally syndicated columnist Georgie Anne Geyer writes. No
leaders emerged calling for comprehensive sex education including
education about the use of condoms, she notes, adding, "Far from be-
ing immoral as some would say, such a campaign could be the medical
and reproductive concomitant of civil rights and human rights and
could serve as a rallying point for restoring spirit and hope in
these afflicted and demoralized countries." She notes the success of
anti-AIDS efforts in Uganda, which "slashed" its infection rate from
14% to 8% through a "broad-based multi-sectoral campaign" that re-
quired public officials to talk about HIV prevention. However,
"[m]ost leaders prefer to act after the fact rather than anticipate
problems and prevent them. AIDS is hardly an enemy that we should
choose to live with when it is one that so clearly can be defeated,"
she concludes (Geyer, Washington Times, 7/1).
Monday
* New York Times: "[O]ne of the biggest challenges" facing the global
fight against HIV/AIDS is the absences of "working health care sys-
tems, a New York Times editorial states. Aiding developing nations
should be "high on the list of priorities" for the global AIDS fund
and must simultaneously include treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, it
continues. "Improvements in AIDS health services would have a tremen-
dous impact, not only on AIDS, but on third-world health in general.
Patients who get regular counseling and medical care are less likely
to transmit the AIDS virus and less likely to become desperately
sick, overwhelming health care facilities," the editorial states.
"Creating health services in nations where nothing works is a daunt-
ing task, but all of the steps are manageable if third-world leaders
are committed to them and donor nations will provide enough money for
long-term reform," it concludes (New York Times, 7/2).
* kron Beacon Journal: HIV/AIDS has "challenged every aspect of pri-
vate and public life," an Akron Beacon Journal editorial states, add-
ing that the disease is an "economic threat," a "humanitarian chal-
lenge" and a "challenge to political leadership." U.N. Secretary-
General Kofi Annan has been the "driving force that has pushed gov-
ernments to confront HIV/AIDS at the highest international level."
The U.N. special session "leaves participants ... with a credibility
test," the editorial continues. "After the talking, what? Too many
national leaders love posturing and hearing themselves talk when
there is an audience, but their political agendas give the lie to
their words," it states. "How many will devote the resources to build
and staff health clinics, provide clean water and decent housing and
educate their citizens about this deadly disease? Those are the meas-
ures that count," the editorial concludes (Akron Beacon Journal,
7/2/).
* St. Petersburg Times: The "good news" coming out of the special
session was that "prevention was the assembly's overriding priority,"
a St. Petersburg Times editorial states. The Declaration of Commit-
ment "outlined an aggressive course of action cantering on education,
preventive care and a 'challenge (to) gender stereotypes and atti-
tudes,' and gender inequalities in relation to HIV/AIDS, encouraging
the active involvement of men and boys," it continues. "Prevention
clearly is more than just encouraging safe sex. It will take a change
in attitudes and behaviors to slow the disease's spread. Men and boys
must change their behavior toward girls and women and social leaders
must face the fact that AIDS spreads through sex and intravenous drug
use," the editorial concludes (St. Petersburg Times, 7/2).
* Winnipeg Free Press: "No matter how you add it up ... this is a far
cry from what is needed" from the international community in response
to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a Winnipeg Free Press editorial states. At
the U.N. summit, delegates could "not even agree on identifying the
root problems of the disease," and "hardly more than" half a billion
dollars of the estimated $7 billion to $10 billion needed annually to
fight the disease was raised, it notes. "A plague of almost unprece-
dented proportions has hit Africa and the international community ap-
pears to be content to play ring-around-the-rosies," it concludes,
referring to the nursery rhyme game that reportedly grew out of the
Black Death in the 14th century (Winnipeg Free Press, 7/2).
* "U.N. Fund for AIDS Hides the Real Injustices": Although the crea-
tion of the Global AIDS and Health Fund "seems entirely laudable," it
is "not that simple," the Irish Times' Brenda O'Brien writes in an
opinion piece. She questions the need for the fund in the existence
of "already well-established channels for the distribution of aid"
and says that the U.N. assembly was "unpleasantly reminiscent of the
excesses of telethon fundraising." If the goal of the Irish govern-
ment is to reach people at the local level, then "little or no money
should be channeled through the United Nations," she writes. Instead,
the money should go directly to grassroots initiatives. She suggests
that international officials address the poverty that "makes HIV/AIDS
such a disaster in the first place," and the "abusive and exploita-
tive" behavior that puts young people at greater risk of HIV infec-
tion. "Simply handing out condoms does nothing to change such abusive
trends," but "may allow governments off the hook for deeper struc-
tural injustices" because it "allows people to feel like something is
being done," she concludes (O'Brien Irish Times, 7/2).
* "The Real Price of Fighting AIDS": "Almost as soon as the United
Nations announced that it had developed a figure for the cost of the
fight against AIDS in Africa earlier this spring, Washington started
to fret" because the number was "just too big," Time senior editor
Joshua Cooper Ramo writes in his column "Frequent Flyer." However,
"[m]uch as donor nations might have liked to round the overall number
down, the costs of AIDS defy even the fuzziest bureaucratic math," he
says, calling the costs "breathtaking." Although the United States
has made a pledge of $200 million to the Global AIDS and Health Fund
and is considering donating $750 million next year, "no comprehensive
U.S. strategy for delivering more leadership for HIV/AIDS" has
emerged, he continues. "It would probably be more realistic" for the
United Nations to raise less money, he writes, adding that the fund
could probably initially "make do" with $5 billion a year. "But with
73,000 Africans infected every week, a truly realistic number may be
much higher than we've yet imagined," he concludes (Ramo, Time, 7/9).
Tuesday
* "The Fight Against AIDS": In a letter to the New York Times, AMFAR
co-founders Elizabeth Taylor and Mathilde Krim "commend the United
Nations for raising awareness of the [HIV/AIDS] epidemic and pay
tribute to the original foot soldiers" of the fight against the dis-
ease: the gay and lesbian community. "Despite official inaction, that
community rose up to help its own and many others," offering educa-
tion and pushing for money for research, they continue. "Thanks to
gays and lesbians, we have a model of compassion and dedication to
fighting the stigma that plagues people with HIV everywhere," they
conclude (Taylor/Krim, New York Times, 7/3).
* "AIDS Crisis Needs More Than Money": "Fortunately, the world seems
to be coming to grips with this pandemic -- at least in terms of cash
and commitment," syndicated columnist William Raspberry writes. "The
money is flowing already" from governments, corporations and founda-
tions, and the pharmaceutical companies are "kicking into gear," he
notes. Although this is "all good news," it "isn't enough" because
"no one has yet figured out the smartest way to spend the money as it
become available," he states. Officials are conflicted about how much
of the resources to dedicate to prevention versus treatment and to
improving health infrastructure. "[I]t does seem clear to me that our
spending won't be nearly as effective as it might be unless the lead-
ers of the most devastated countries also undertake to change the be-
havior that spreads HIV/AIDS," he continues. "Money is necessary, but
it isn't everything. In the long term, with a behavior-spawned plague
like AIDS, it may not even be the most important thing," he concludes
(Raspberry, Deseret News, 7/3).
Thursday
* "Africa Must Learn From Brazil's AIDS Fight": Philadelphia Inquirer
columnist Trudy Rubin suggests in a Baltimore Sun op-ed that
"[i]nstead of debating for three days in New York," the United Na-
tions special assembly should have taken place in Brazil, the "only
developing nation that has found a successful formula to combat the
AIDS menace." With the aid of three "key" principles, Brazil's gov-
ernment has halved the projected number of HIV infections, Rubin
notes. The first principle is "committed political leadership from
the top down," she states. The second principle is the "heavy in-
volvement of civic and community organizations, which are essential
for reaching the poor and helping them take the complicated regimen
of drugs," she says, adding that those groups are aided by a Brazil-
ian "openness" about sex that allows workers to talk frankly about
HIV transmission. The third principle is access to AIDS medications.
Since 1997, Brazil has provided its citizens with free anti-AIDS
drugs, a strategy possible because the government produces "cheap,
generic versions" of many antiretroviral medications and because Bra-
zil ia a "rich poor country," Rubin says. In Africa, where most na-
tions face larger numbers of HIV/AIDS cases and the health system is
"sketchy," the Brazilian model "may be out of reach," she notes. But
the model could be successful in Latin America, India and urban South
Africa, Rubin states. "In the meantime, hard-hit African nations can
adopt Brazil's first two principles of top-down, bottom-up leadership
to push prevention and develop a health network. Without such leader-
ship, no amount of cheap drugs will do any good," she concludes
(Rubin, Baltimore Sun, 7/5).
* "Now, We Don't Worry Enough About HIV": "What ever happened to the
great AIDS crisis in America?" Newsday columnist Joseph Dolman
writes. The subject of the United States' epidemic "barely came up"
at the U.N. conference last week, he notes, calling the meeting a
"mixed blessing." The United States has the money for treatment and
"no shortage of prevention expertise," yet while the epidemic in this
country is "still going strong," many have "traded domestic craziness
for yawning apathy," he states. The demographic shift of the disease
away from whites and toward minorities may be one reason that AIDS
patients are "more marginalized than ever," he continues. In the
early 1990s, CDC researchers worried that the American epidemic would
shift to a "middle-class breakout," but they were wrong, he states.
"HIV likes, in particular, women and gay men, in addition to people
with a history of STDs and drug injectors. And for a million complex
reasons it especially likes to prey on the poor," he continues. CDC
researchers have also "worried that attention at home would flag once
most white Americans realized they weren't at risk for AIDS," he
states, adding, "[W]ho's to say they're wrong? We're not out of the
woods yet" (Dolman, Newsday, 7/5).
Friday
* Baltimore Sun: Although the U.N. session produced "few break-
throughs," it did foster a "broader understanding and deeper commit-
ment on the part of member nations to building the health infrastruc-
ture that is the only sure means of stemming the AIDS pandemic," a
Baltimore Sun editorial states. The editorial concludes, "The United
States still must prove -- with more than a token donation -- its
commitment to the global AIDS fund that has been established" (Balti-
more Sun, 7/6)
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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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