[Pharm-policy] Just stick to what Mbeki said

[James Love]

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 14:59:41 +0200
From: Dr Ian Roberts <irobmoh@icon.co.za>
To: ip-health@venice.essential.org
Subject: [Ip-health] Just stick to what Mbeki said


Release from Mr Parks Mankahlana - Head of Communications - President
Mbeki's Office:
=A0

Just stick to what Mbeki said

 1. There continue to be questions about the philosophical underpinnings
    of religion and the scriptures. Many philosophers and historians have
    gone as far as questioning the existence of God and the legacy of
    Jesus Christ. These questions notwithstanding, humankind's devotion
    and commitment to religious guidance and solace has not diminished.
    In fact, over the years, man&#8217;s association with the word of God
    has flourished. Then why should questions that are asked by the South
    African government about HIV/AIDS reverse the "gains that have been
    made in the past thirteen years"?
 2. Human beings live in the realm of what they know. Through the ages,
    humanity's relationships with its environment has been
    discovery, research, investigation, discovery and invention.
    Knowledge and information as well as their management and
    dissemination are therefore important ingredients in the definition
    of human existence.
 3. From time immemorial humans have struggled to grasp phenomena which
    for want of scientific progress at the time were either
    incomprehensible or confusing to them. English words like "magic",
    "mystery" and many others that seek to define phenomena and things
    that human beings did not understand epitomise the struggle to
    understand our surroundings. Out of anxiety -should we say
    desperation- to understand and grapple with the unknown, humans
    invent such belief, as witchcraft, sorcery and even religion, to
    explain what was alien to them. All this is due to the failure or
    inhibitions of scientific progress and philosophical thought at the
    various stages of human development.
 4. Invariably, the powerful and the rich expropriate knowledge, issue
    patents to themselves and make laws and regulations to protect and
    defend their interests. With the advent of capitalism and its
    modernisation, knowledge and information have become the main
    commodities in the process of wealth accumulation.
 5. Since his address to the National Council of Provinces in August in
    1999, President Thabo Mbeki has taken the debate on HIV/AIDS to the
    level it deserves. He is the only head of state that has put the
    HIV/AIDS issue on the national agenda on a daily basis, not only in
    South Africa, but the world over. Like most HIV/AIDS activists have
    argued, he has broken the tradition that seeks to make the disease
    just a health problem. HIV/AIDS is a socio-economic problem. It is a
    political problem that has reached the proportion of an international
    crisis. It threatens to destroy nations and continents.
 6. There has hardly been a response from any personality of note from
    the third world or any of the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS to
    the debate about AZT. We have not seen the kind of reaction we would
    have encountered had any other drug prescribed for TB, cholera or
    other diseases been at issue. AZT means little or nothing to most of
    the citizens of the world where HIV/AIDS is prevalent because they
    can&#8217;t afford it any way.
 7. But why has Mbeki generated such a violent reaction from the same
    people who should cherish a head of government championing the cause
    of HIV/AIDS awareness. Why is it that the only President in the world
    whose every published photograph has the HIV awareness ribbon
    emblazoned on his breast has become the subject of scorn and
    ridicule? Why is it that a President that authorised an additional
    R73 Million from a limited budget for AIDS research is accused of
    embracing voodoo science? And why is he accused of saying things he
    has said?.
 8. Commerce and industry unfortunately define human relations and
    conduct. In the modern world, what we say or do not say, may be the
    ultimate determinant in share price performance or non-performance.
 9. The response to President Mbeki&#8217;s address in the NCOP in 1999
    was not motivated by the desire to see an end to the scourge of
    AIDS/HIV. It was driven by the fear of the impact the remarks would
    have on the profitability of the product.
10. The "evil empire" was a construct of the military industrial complex.
    Super profits being the major consideration, the world was made to
    indulge in the most extravagant arms race that we have ever seen. Yes
    socialism existed, and inequality within and between nations was
    there. Indeed poverty and inequality continue to devastate humankind.
    But neither socialist ideas nor poverty were annihilated by the
    accumulated profits that sit comfortably in the accounts of the
    harvests of the loot of the "cold war".
11. HIV/AIDS is not going to succumb to the machinations of the
    profiteering pharmaceuticals and their propagandists. Like the
    marauders of the military industrial complex, the profit takers who
    are benefiting from the scourge of HIV/AIDS will disappear to the
    affluent beaches of the world to enjoy wealth accumulated from
    humankind ravaged by a dreaded disease. And we shall continue to die
    from AIDS.
12. Why is it that no one has asked the medical insurance companies to
    cover medical services for people with HIV/AIDS? Why is it that we do
    not hear voices demanding that doctors be allowed to prescribe AZT
    and the other therapies that are applicable to HIV/AIDS patients? Why
    is there no clamour for insurance companies to provide life cover for
    people who live with HIV/AIDS? Why must the South African government
    give AZT to pregnant women when medical insurance companies will not
    cover it even for affording members? And this despite the enormous
    resources these companies command compared to the meagre resources of
    government. The answer is simple - it is not profitable. Sure, the
    shareholders of Glaxo&#8211; Welcome will rejoice to hear that the
    South African government has decided to supply AZT to pregnant women
    who are HIV positive. The source shall not be concern for their
    health but about profits and shareholder value.
13. What is the reality?=A0 AIDS exists!
14. What is reality? There is no cure for Aids!
15. What is reality? We humans know very little about HIV/AIDS.
16. This is the reality of President Mbeki&#8217;s world, namely the
    challenge to find answers about an illness that is ravaging more
    especially the poorest of the poor.
17. The President has authorised an international panel to be instituted
    to broaden the search for solutions.
18. The international panel must strive to give us answers to all the
    unknowns. They must attempt to unravel the "mysteries" of HIV/AIDS,
    including and more especially what the profit-takers cannot tell us.
19. President Mbeki is committed to the campaign to eradicate HIV/AIDS
    from the face of the earth. He would not be dedicating so much time
    to the issue if he were not. He needs support - not the abuse of all
    of us. He deserves supporters, not detractors in his genuine quest to
    ensure HIV/AIDS is addressed correctly.