The End of AIDS: A Global Summit with Bill Clinton

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akinf

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I just finished watching this television special on CNN and found it incredibly interesting. Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosted the special discussing a number of issues regarding HIV/AIDS. These included the curent state, opinions from a number of officials from various industries (pharmaceutical, government, HIV+ individuals, and NGOs). Essentially, I want to see from SDN the opinions on regarding some of these issues.

Some of these questions were asked.

1. What would you do to stop the spread and devastation of HIV?
2. What are we currently doing right and wrong is a move towards finding a cure/vaccine?
3. What type of legislation (if need be) could be introduced in places like Europe, Canada, and the United States to alleviate our HIV/AIDS problem and those of other countries?
4. How can we go about improving the situation in the most devastated areas (Africa, India, and Latin America)?


The Chairman & CEO of Pfizer mentioned that it costs money for the research into these medications. However, pharmaceutical companies are not forced to disclose their operations costs. So, even though millions of people are dying world wide from HIV/AIDS, pharmaceutical companies and developed countries continue to make billions of dollars from medication. How can these parties help developing countries to make the financial burden of access to proper medication easier? Please, all opinions welcome.

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By getting rid of those corrupt governments that keep the aid money intended for the sick.
 
We need to eradicate TB and malaria before AIDS. Those two continue to kill more annually.
 
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I agree, the governments in resource-poor areas play such an important role, yet they seldom do the right thing. i don't think it is really companies' faults since developing medication also requires billions of dollars. one might argue that they lower their prices more, but most have already lowered prices many times below the prices developed countried pay.

To improve the AIDS situation in resource-poor countries, a lot more in those countries need to be improved--economy, public health... I've been learning a lot about Kenya lately since I'm traveling there this summer, but it sounds like many communities simply cannot put AIDS treatment as a high priority since there are so many other causes of mortality. I think public health needs to be greatly improved first--getting people clean water and clean living conditions. Otherwise, a death from AIDS does not seem abnormal, since people have become accustomed to death in general. I stress the importance of what the community over there does because there is a limit to the amount of money and resources that the developed world can pour onto these countries. At some point, the government there and the people need to decide what is important to them and how to make it happen. It's called sustainability, and that needs to come from the affected country itself.
 
Please keep your socialism contained to Canada.
 
My graduate education in International Public Health and time in Kenya has taught me that we need to:

1- Increase the education and literacy levels of women everywhere. When they have the skills needed to enter the labor market, they can be more independent, and therefore have a stronger voice with which to demand condom use, within marriage and without.
2-Increase current levels of research into female-controlled microbicides and contraceptives.
3-Provide the drugs. Period. Paul Farmer's group Partners in Health works in resource-poor settings like Haiti and Peru (where resource-poor is a really pretty euphamism for reality) and has had amazing successes when the ARV's needed are provided along with the food supplements needed to increase/maintain nutrition status so the drugs can work. Also, Brazil (I believe) has managed to control its AIDS epidemic by providing the drugs to any who need them.
4-Work to reduce stigma so people will get tested and treated. This will also help those with TB. The rates of TB are on the rise globally, especially amongst those with HIV/AIDS. TB is becoming associated with AIDS, and the associated stigma is preventing people from getting tested and treated for that as well.

Also, an AIDS death is not "just another death" as from lack of clean water. The sheer number of orphans left to grandparents and distant relatives who can barely support themselves is astounding and on an unprecedented scale. Furthermore, it most often kills when people are at their most economically productive, further dragging down the abilities of families and countries to support themselves.

There is no silver bullet. We need to do all this and more, while still treating/preventing malaria and TB, providing access to clean water and sanitation, improving economic opportunities, making governments more transparent and elections free and fair, etc.

And since it's a global problem, everyone needs to chip in- governments, NGO's, private citizens, even the pharmaceuticals who spend as much on advertising as R&D (which is often conducted at universities and therefore state-sponsered).

Just my 2 cents' worth.
 
once bill and melinda gates are done with malaria....perhaps they will start looking at AIDS
 
nolamd2b said:
My graduate education in International Public Health and time in Kenya has taught me that we need to:

1- Increase the education and literacy levels of women everywhere. When they have the skills needed to enter the labor market, they can be more independent, and therefore have a stronger voice with which to demand condom use, within marriage and without.
2-Increase current levels of research into female-controlled microbicides and contraceptives.
3-Provide the drugs. Period. Paul Farmer's group Partners in Health works in resource-poor settings like Haiti and Peru (where resource-poor is a really pretty euphamism for reality) and has had amazing successes when the ARV's needed are provided along with the food supplements needed to increase/maintain nutrition status so the drugs can work. Also, Brazil (I believe) has managed to control its AIDS epidemic by providing the drugs to any who need them.
4-Work to reduce stigma so people will get tested and treated. This will also help those with TB. The rates of TB are on the rise globally, especially amongst those with HIV/AIDS. TB is becoming associated with AIDS, and the associated stigma is preventing people from getting tested and treated for that as well.

Also, an AIDS death is not "just another death" as from lack of clean water. The sheer number of orphans left to grandparents and distant relatives who can barely support themselves is astounding and on an unprecedented scale. Furthermore, it most often kills when people are at their most economically productive, further dragging down the abilities of families and countries to support themselves.

There is no silver bullet. We need to do all this and more, while still treating/preventing malaria and TB, providing access to clean water and sanitation, improving economic opportunities, making governments more transparent and elections free and fair, etc.

And since it's a global problem, everyone needs to chip in- governments, NGO's, private citizens, even the pharmaceuticals who spend as much on advertising as R&D (which is often conducted at universities and therefore state-sponsered).

Just my 2 cents' worth.


... in other words, "do every possible thing," which is the least possible plan.

i agree with the focus on women as an important point of control, though.

when you were in Africa, what did the common citizen think were the most pressing issues? i'm really interested to know.
 
SpeakLittleB said:
... in other words, "do every possible thing," which is the least possible plan.

i agree with the focus on women as an important point of control, though.

when you were in Africa, what did the common citizen think were the most pressing issues? i'm really interested to know.

When I was in Swaziland, I found that women were still placed in a serious position of disadvantage. I don't mean that they made on average 70% of the amount men do, but, men told women what to do and it seemed that they had to. Now, I must say that this is no way representative of the entire country or all of Africa, but the fact that are hasn't been a strong feminist movement to improve the status of women has no done anything to alleviate the problem.

The stigma associated with HIV/AIDS is still massive and even though there has been so much advertising and research done into HIV/AIDS, it still appears to be a largly misunderstood illness.

Education in developing countries needs reform. Individuals need to be educated more and at an earlier age. The value of education and it's ability to translate into a booming economy needs to be realized. There are many technologies that developed countries use that developing have not even begun to become fully acquainted with. A really good example is computer literacy and high-speed internet.

The delivery of external aid needs to be strictly regulated. Governments of these countries need to be held more accountable, not by outside agencies or governments, but by their own people. Political activity free from persecution needs to addressed so the educated few who believe in a better life for their country and its people can stand up to demand change.

Infrastructure. There are natural resources that Latin America, Africa, and India have at their disposal that aren't being properly utilized. They need to use these resources to gain some sort of leverage to promote business and favorable trade within their country. Favorable trade does not include activities like having to import toilet paper or notebooks. These are items most countrie should be able to produce.

Poverty. A major concern, more than TB, malaria, and HIV/AIDS; this is beca all of these illnesses stem from the poverty-stricken lifestyle. It's important to attack this head-on because poverty causes many of the issues I've mentioned - lack of education, lack of infrastructure, etc.

Lastly, stigmatization against these afflicted countries. The developing world has been characterized by illness, poverty, disease, and death. It's important that the rest of the world realize that they are more than this and have greater use. The governments need to realize that it is human lives at stake entire cultures are going extinct because of illnesses that are TOTALLY preventable. It's also important for students like ourselves to refuse to turn a blind eye and do something. We must be really active in getting the word out and our opinions that we refuse to watch as people the world over are being obliterated. There is more we can do.
 
nolamd2b said:
3-Provide the drugs. Period. Paul Farmer's group Partners in Health works in resource-poor settings like Haiti and Peru (where resource-poor is a really pretty euphamism for reality) and has had amazing successes when the ARV's needed are provided along with the food supplements needed to increase/maintain nutrition status so the drugs can work. Also, Brazil (I believe) has managed to control its AIDS epidemic by providing the drugs to any who need them.

The media ought to find out more about doctors like Paul Farmer. Lionize these people for public awareness in America and that will attract more of our attention to Africa.

We need medical shows about doctors working in Africa.

Ever since all these television networks have been airing the ER shows, more and more prospective doctors want to become ER docs.

We do not need more medical shows about "Trauma in the ER" or "Grey's Anatomy".

Instead we need "Doctors Without Borders" about folks going to Africa. If some television producer could do that, that would make a lot of folks go over seas to work in underserved areas. With more American doctors overseas, that would only increase public awareness and the medical community's attention.

All right, I know it sounds like a lame idea but I'm trying :(

The United States of America is a nation controlled by the television. Look at how MTV controls the minds of so many of us. If the networks can make up an award winning television show about medicine in Africa and grab the attention of a vast majority of Americans, I think it would do wonders towards the work to help alleivate the problems over there (run on sentence)

They ought to pick a really beautiful actress to play a lead role. Just do anything to draw the attention of the common people into what is happening overseas because right now they're stuck on American Idol.

Not that I have anything against American Idol - in fact I watch it a lot, but it would be also enlightening to see a show that describes doctors in Africa in the style of "ER" , "House" , "MASH" , "Discovery Health."

There is so much grass roots efforts that have to be done in Africa - and it would help a good deal if we can win the hearts and minds of people in America as well.
 
CatsandCradles said:
The media ought to find out more about doctors like Paul Farmer. Lionize these people for public awareness in America and that will attract more of our attention to Africa.

We need medical shows about doctors working in Africa.

Ever since all these television networks have been airing the ER shows, more and more prospective doctors want to become ER docs.

We do not need more medical shows about "Trauma in the ER" or "Grey's Anatomy".

Instead we need "Doctors Without Borders" about folks going to Africa. If some television producer could do that, that would make a lot of folks go over seas to work in underserved areas. With more American doctors overseas, that would only increase public awareness and the medical community's attention.

All right, I know it sounds like a lame idea but I'm trying :(

The United States of America is a nation controlled by the television. Look at how MTV controls the minds of so many of us. If the networks can make up an award winning television show about medicine in Africa and grab the attention of a vast majority of Americans, I think it would do wonders towards the work to help alleivate the problems over there (run on sentence)

They ought to pick a really beautiful actress to play a lead role. Just do anything to draw the attention of the common people into what is happening overseas because right now they're stuck on American Idol.

Not that I have anything against American Idol - in fact I watch it a lot, but it would be also enlightening to see a show that describes doctors in Africa in the style of "ER" , "House" , "MASH" , "Discovery Health."

There is so much grass roots efforts that have to be done in Africa - and it would help a good deal if we can win the hearts and minds of people in America as well.

TV shows are not made to change cultures, but to entertain.
 
Rafa said:
We need to eradicate TB and malaria before AIDS. Those two continue to kill more annually.
Just to make a note, TB is growing but not at a rate of HIV/AIDS. As well as TB is also a growing co-infection of HIV/AIDS which eventually is the cause of death.

TB and malaria must be addressed but malaria pretty much is confined to one area now ...

372299.gif



Not saying they aren't important but on global scales, HIV/AIDS needs to be stopped. They have killed more in its lifespan than any infectious outbreak other than the smallpox outbreak back in the middle ages which killed hundreds of million. Feel free to check out that stat in the book AIDS UPDATE: 2005 which has a ton of great information.

While there are many infectious diseases out there and some that may kill more than HIV/AIDS, there is no threat that is more pandemic in nature or unable to cured than HIV/AIDS.

Whomever stated above about how education is needed, especially in women, I agree with wholeheartedly. Alot of the spread in Sub-Sarhara is via prostitution. Education is a huge way to prevent this. As well as having people understand the risks. While some may not realize for a period back in 2002-2003, the president of South Africa DENOUNCED HIV/AIDS as a hoax and had strong ties with some of the "scientists" who claim that HIV is not a virus and its made up. That people are dying from treating them with a disease that does not exsist. Pretty much, he wised up and finally started to battle but even that short period of time, that sentiment that has been built has spread to his people as well as over the world.

Yes, some people are genetically able to supress certain HIV substrains, as in the way that some monkeys are able. But that DOES NOT make them invincible, ESPECIALLY with the new information that these strains are mutating into recombatinant forms. As well as since many treatments out there are not working as well as they used to. The need to curb this disease is immense.

here are some facts about HIV/AIDS you might enjoy ...


-AIDS/HIV is in the US top 10 cause of death for 15-54 year olds
-For the period of 1999-2003 12,000 more people from the ages of 35-44 died from HIV (29,000 people) than were murdered (17,000 people).
-CDC reports that estimated 950,000 Americans with HIV and one third do not even know they have it
-Of that 950,000 – 70% are men and 30% women
-Of that 950,000 – over 50% are under the age of 25
-AIDS is the number one cause of death in African American men of all ages who make up 12% of the US population
-More than 50% of all new cases are African American
-More than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, most in sub-Sahara Africa.


http://www.unaids.org/epi/2005/doc/EPIupdate2005_html_en/epi05_13_en.htm#maps
Has some figures about this disease worldwide. Its just really sad that about 40% of all people out there do NOT realize they are HIV positive.
 
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mshheaddoc said:
-AIDS/HIV is in the US top 10 cause of death for 15-54 year olds
-For the period of 1999-2003 12,000 more people from the ages of 35-44 died from HIV (29,000 people) than were murdered (17,000 people).
-CDC reports that estimated 950,000 Americans with HIV and one third do not even know they have it
-Of that 950,000 – 70% are men and 30% women
-Of that 950,000 – over 50% are under the age of 25
-AIDS is the number one cause of death in African American men of all ages who make up 12% of the US population
-More than 50% of all new cases are African American
-More than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, most in sub-Sahara Africa.

Don't worry, my friend. It's a gay disease.
 
I think i mentioned this in another forum. There are some memebers of the teachers union here that are trying to raise money to go to Africa to teach safe sex and other things to help prevent to spread of the disease. They recieved a federal grant, and the only things they can use the grant money for is to teach abstinance. Which of course will be a waste of time and money because it is very impractical.

So sometimes even when people try to help, the chrision fundamentalist government finds a way to screw them up.
 
Havarti666 said:
Don't worry, my friend. It's a gay disease.
Actually, it is a gay/IDU disease in the US and most other countries. ;)

Not that it is a bad thing...we should want to helps homosexuals/IDUs just as much as anyone else.
 
mshheaddoc said:
here are some facts about HIV/AIDS you might enjoy ...


-AIDS/HIV is in the US top 10 cause of death for 15-54 year olds
-For the period of 1999-2003 12,000 more people from the ages of 35-44 died from HIV (29,000 people) than were murdered (17,000 people).
-CDC reports that estimated 950,000 Americans with HIV and one third do not even know they have it
-Of that 950,000 – 70% are men and 30% women
-Of that 950,000 – over 50% are under the age of 25
-AIDS is the number one cause of death in African American men of all ages who make up 12% of the US population
-More than 50% of all new cases are African American
-More than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, most in sub-Sahara Africa.


http://www.unaids.org/epi/2005/doc/EPIupdate2005_html_en/epi05_13_en.htm#maps
Has some figures about this disease worldwide. Its just really sad that about 40% of all people out there do NOT realize they are HIV positive.
Some more stats about HIV:

Gay males and IDUs make up about 3.225 million people of the United States 298,444,215 people.
Martin cites a number of alarming statistics to show the size of the drug problem. The number of IDUs is estimated to be between 1 million and 1.25 million.
http://www.rice.edu/sallyport/2005/fall/sallyport/martinresearch.html

Gay males: 0.7% http://www.adherents.com/adh_dem.html

total US population: 298,444,215 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html

AIDS deaths 2004: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/reports/2004report/table7.htm

If we crunch the numbers IDUs are 1.25 mil + 1 mil / 2 = 1.125 and add 2.1 million gay males (0.7% of pop) we have about 3.225 million gay males and IDUs in America. This population made up 11,632 of the 14,804 AIDS deaths in 2004. Now, 3.225 million divided by 11,632 is 1 AIDS death per 277 gay males/IDUs. For the entire population (298,444,315 - 3.225 mil) that would be 1 AIDS death per 93,070 people that aren’t gay males or IDUs.
 
Thank you for the stats!

:clap: Fantastic. But this is about all americans. I don't discriminate on sexuality. As well as the fact that the risk between heterosexuals is stil there. Women are just at risk and they aren't all sleeping with the gay men. Additionally, many younger people are experimenting with bi-sexuality, so this brings a greater risk to our society.

I appreciate your standpoint but globally this is not a "gay" disease. This is a pandemic that can potentially spread to all walks of life.
 
mshheaddoc said:
Thank you for the stats!

:clap: Fantastic. But this is about all americans. I don't discriminate on sexuality. As well as the fact that the risk between heterosexuals is stil there. Women are just at risk and they aren't all sleeping with the gay men. Additionally, many younger people are experimenting with bi-sexuality, so this brings a greater risk to our society.

I appreciate your standpoint but globally this is not a "gay" disease. This is a pandemic that can potentially spread to all walks of life.
Its not about discrimination; its about finding where the problem is and helping. Women ARE at risk albeit nowhere near the risk of gay men(the people they sleep with are even less of a risk). Why do you say more younger people are experimenting with bi-sexuality?

Herein lies the problem with your pandemic. In America, I think it will be hard to "rally the troops" with as much vigor as yourself. The NIH has the HIV/AIDS budget FAR exceeding other diseases that kill MANY MANY more people. Is the average American going to care about HIV when their family and friends are being wiped out by cancer and heart disease? Keep in mind that HIV/AIDS usually happens because of one's own sexual or drug addicted actions---unlike cancer, heart disease etc etc.
 
I agree with what you stated that the budget exceeds other diseases and you are right, not many other people will see the side of the coin that I'm on. I guess I'm looking at the constant threat.

And the bi-sexuality comment , I don't have an offical studies. But I suppose its the fact that I'm hearing from more and more people (especially guys) who have experiemented in bisexuality. If I come across and figures I'll let you know but right now, I don't think people can argue that more and more people are coming out of the closet as activists argue for support to gay/lesbian/bi-sexual. I did find this link about youth and HIV/AIDS though ... here
 
I think the budget thing has to do with the fact that AIDS used to be a very scary disease, with little known about it. We're not talking about very long ago here....the 1980s and 90s
 
I don't know how old anyone else is, but I remember when it was called GRID. I also remember how certain... not-so-progressive segments of society leapt all over it. Finally, they said, God had come to punish the (male) homosexuals for their sins. And by what better way than a disease that exclusively infects homosexuals?

The problem was, of course, that it doesn't exclusively infect homosexuals. Changing the name from GRID to AIDS reflected this fact, and it sent a very important message to heterosexuals: this isn't an exclusively gay disease, so watch out. Condoms and safe sex became the rallying cries, and that movement likely stemmed the flow of HIV into the heterosexual populations.

I also remember all the public hysteria about precisely how HIV was transmitted. Could you get it from a toilet seat? From a water fountain? From a kiss on the cheek? How much of it was in the blood supply? It was a rather scary time, considering how little was known about the nature of the disease.

Now we have a situation where HIV in this country is, very roughly, pretty stable. We know from mathematical models that diseases without natural reservoirs can be, in theory, driven out of existence. While this is unlikely to occur with HIV any time soon, it is counterproductive to revert to the old terminology - one that falsely paints heterosexuals as being utterly dissociated from the HIV epidemic.

The solution to HIV is to keep people from getting infected, not giving them the green light because their infection rate is relatively low. That's like pushing the ball to your opponent's five yard line and then walking off the field because you feel close enough to the end zone.

If you're too young to remember HIV in the early 1980's, you might also not appreciate how divisive the phrase "gay disease" was. Sure, we all had good laughs at the jokes:

- What does AIDS stand for? "Adios Infected D**k Sucker."
- Why can't they find a cure for AIDS? Because they can't get rats to buttf**k.
- Hear about the new amusement park for guys with AIDS? It's called Sick Fags over Texas.

...but honestly. How did that perception help anyone?
 
akinf said:
I just finished watching this television special on CNN and found it incredibly interesting. Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosted the special discussing a number of issues regarding HIV/AIDS. These included the curent state, opinions from a number of officials from various industries (pharmaceutical, government, HIV+ individuals, and NGOs). Essentially, I want to see from SDN the opinions on regarding some of these issues.

Some of these questions were asked.

1. What would you do to stop the spread and devastation of HIV?
2. What are we currently doing right and wrong is a move towards finding a cure/vaccine?
3. What type of legislation (if need be) could be introduced in places like Europe, Canada, and the United States to alleviate our HIV/AIDS problem and those of other countries?
4. How can we go about improving the situation in the most devastated areas (Africa, India, and Latin America)?


The Chairman & CEO of Pfizer mentioned that it costs money for the research into these medications. However, pharmaceutical companies are not forced to disclose their operations costs. So, even though millions of people are dying world wide from HIV/AIDS, pharmaceutical companies and developed countries continue to make billions of dollars from medication. How can these parties help developing countries to make the financial burden of access to proper medication easier? Please, all opinions welcome.

About 6 months ago, I came across a book hot off the press entitled " Race Against Time" (2005) written by Stephen Lewis, UN Secretary- General's special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and commissioner of the WHO . This book will provide some of the answers you are seeking. It consists of a series of lectures (CBC Massey Lectures Series) which Lewis gave in university lecture halls across the country.

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/massey.html
http://www.anansi.ca/titles.cfm?pub_id=280

Stephen Lewis and the Lewis family have been very politically active in Canada. His father, David Lewis, was the leader of the NDP.

The Stephen Lewis foundation is devoted to the HIV/AIDS problem in Africa

http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/

Here are some reviews of the book:

"Lewis's lectures are powerful and should, and will, be widely read. It will probably be the only book a lot of people read on this most important of issues, and as such I am very glad of what is in it. He discusses all kinds of things one could have anticipated, like the unique problems of children who are raised by other children because all of their adult family has died of AIDS, or the problems of grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren because their children have died of AIDS.

He fingers the wealthy countries, the international institutions, and the IMF in a way that, like the 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man', a leftist analyst just can't, because he was in the system while all of the stuff was going down. Lewis was in a meeting when a Ugandan official put forward a very sensible public health program which was promptly shot down by the IMF representative. He knew the government official and the IMF rep. The fact that it comes from an inside source doesn't mean that it is more true than when it was said five or ten years ago by outsiders, but maybe it will be credible to audiences that wouldn't otherwise hear it."
----------------------------------------------------------------
"I have had the great privilege in my life to have seen Stephen Lewis speak on three separate occasions and given the opportunity to see him speak a million more times, I would gladly accept. He is brilliant, arguably the most eloquent speaker most have ever heard. His voice, his words can move you to tears as quickly as they can move you to laughter. And when talking about AIDS in Africa it’s not so easy to laugh. He speaks with his heart and you can feel his pain, feel all the horribly unimaginable things he has seen a hundred times over. This one man and all the children and women of Africa whom he fights for has been a huge influence in what I want to do with the rest of my life. His passion is intoxicatingly addictive.

Let me backtrack; give you a better sense of who Stephen Lewis is. First, he’s a Canadian ever deservedly named MacLean’s magazine’s “Canadian of the Year” in 2003. Time magazine listed him as one of the world’s most influential people in 2005. Again, another perfectly suited designation. I do admit, I am biased. After all, this man has been a major guiding factor in my life. His current job titles include the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, commissioner on the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org). Word has it that he is an insomniac and looking at his numerous commitments, a lack of sleep works to his advantage. Mr. Lewis (I would love to be able to refer him as Stephen, but having met him only once I hardly feel that we are on first name basis) has recently completed his Canadian tour giving five separate talks for the CBC Massey Lectures Series. The title of the Series: A Race Against Time. The first line of his first lecture: “I have spent the last four years watching people die”. Kind of grabs you at hello doesn’t it?

Stephen Lewis has a lot to say. He says it himself, he’s “addicted to the spoken word”. Speaking is his vocation. In these lectures, he particularly focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and there impossibly unreachable target date of 2015. These eight goals put forth by the UN Assembly in 2000 include: cut the worst of poverty and hunger in half; achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce by two-thirds the under-five child mortality rate, reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate, halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, ensure environmental sustainability and finally, develop a global partnership of development. Mr. Lewis has a lot of doubt that the international community will even come close to reaching this target and his experiences with the UN, the World Bank and the International Monetary fund seem to justify his hunch. It isn’t right, it isn’t fair. We need to become aware of what’s happening outside our comfort zones, we need to get angry and we need to act. Pick up a copy of his book, Race against Time, if you want to learn more. I highly recommend it and the next time Mr. Lewis blesses us with his presence on campus, do come and listen. Education really is the first step in making positive changes. Mr. Lewis has told me this first hand and I think my mother would agree. Let yourself be inspired. "
 
mshheaddoc said:
Just to make a note, TB is growing but not at a rate of HIV/AIDS. As well as TB is also a growing co-infection of HIV/AIDS which eventually is the cause of death.

TB and malaria must be addressed but malaria pretty much is confined to one area now ...

372299.gif



Not saying they aren't important but on global scales, HIV/AIDS needs to be stopped. They have killed more in its lifespan than any infectious outbreak other than the smallpox outbreak back in the middle ages which killed hundreds of million. Feel free to check out that stat in the book AIDS UPDATE: 2005 which has a ton of great information.

While there are many infectious diseases out there and some that may kill more than HIV/AIDS, there is no threat that is more pandemic in nature or unable to cured than HIV/AIDS.

Whomever stated above about how education is needed, especially in women, I agree with wholeheartedly. Alot of the spread in Sub-Sarhara is via prostitution. Education is a huge way to prevent this. As well as having people understand the risks. While some may not realize for a period back in 2002-2003, the president of South Africa DENOUNCED HIV/AIDS as a hoax and had strong ties with some of the "scientists" who claim that HIV is not a virus and its made up. That people are dying from treating them with a disease that does not exsist. Pretty much, he wised up and finally started to battle but even that short period of time, that sentiment that has been built has spread to his people as well as over the world.

Yes, some people are genetically able to supress certain HIV substrains, as in the way that some monkeys are able. But that DOES NOT make them invincible, ESPECIALLY with the new information that these strains are mutating into recombatinant forms. As well as since many treatments out there are not working as well as they used to. The need to curb this disease is immense.

here are some facts about HIV/AIDS you might enjoy ...


-AIDS/HIV is in the US top 10 cause of death for 15-54 year olds
-For the period of 1999-2003 12,000 more people from the ages of 35-44 died from HIV (29,000 people) than were murdered (17,000 people).
-CDC reports that estimated 950,000 Americans with HIV and one third do not even know they have it
-Of that 950,000 – 70% are men and 30% women
-Of that 950,000 – over 50% are under the age of 25
-AIDS is the number one cause of death in African American men of all ages who make up 12% of the US population
-More than 50% of all new cases are African American
-More than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, most in sub-Sahara Africa.


http://www.unaids.org/epi/2005/doc/EPIupdate2005_html_en/epi05_13_en.htm#maps
Has some figures about this disease worldwide. Its just really sad that about 40% of all people out there do NOT realize they are HIV positive.

Just thought that I would add that the "Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" has donated a substantial amount of money ( $ 258.3 MILLION :eek: ) to deal with the whole malaria issue. :thumbup:

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalHealth/Pri_Diseases/Malaria/Announcements/Announce-051030.htm
 
mshheaddoc said:
man I wish I had that type of money to throw around.

Yes, me too! And if I did, I would donate most of it for the same causes the Gates' are!

Not only have they funded projects related to malaria but HIV as well. If only all billionaires in the world could be as philanthropic, what a better world it would be !

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalHealth/GranteeProfiles/SGGHIAVI-011011.htm

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalHealth/Pri_Diseases/HIVAIDS/HIVProgramsPartnerships/Avahan.htm

More on the foundation:
Founded in 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation promotes greater equity in four primary areas: global health, education, public libraries, and assistance for vulnerable children and families in Washington state and greater Portland, Oregon. The foundation joins local, national, and international partners to ensure that advances in these areas reach those who need them most. The foundation is led by co-chairs Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and William H. Gates Sr., and by CEO Patty Stonesifer.

Grantmaking Areas

* Education http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/RelatedInfo/EducationFactSheet-021201.htm
* Global Health
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalHealth/
* Global Libraries
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Libraries/
* Pacific Northwest
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/PacificNorthwest/
* Charitable Sector Support
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ForGrantSeekers/

Locations

* Headquarters - Seattle, WA
* East Coast Office - Washington, DC
* Avahan Initiative - Delhi, India

Leadership

* Bill Gates, Co-chair
* Melinda French Gates, Co-chair
* William H. Gates Sr., Co-chair
* Patty Stonesifer, Chief Executive Officer
* Sylvia M. Mathews, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Global Libraries and Strategic Opportunities
* Allan C. Golston, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
* Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director, Education

Statistics*

Number of employees: 263
Endowment: $29.1 billion
Total grant commitments since inception: $10.2 billion
Total 2005 grant payments: $1.36 billion


Geographic reach

The foundation supports grantees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Internationally, we support work in more than 100 countries. About 60 percent of our grants go toward global efforts; the rest is dedicated to improving lives in the United States.

Illustrative Grant Commitments

* United Negro College Fund, Gates Millennium Scholars Program - $1 billion
* The GAVI Alliance - $1.5 billion
* Malaria Vaccine Initiative - $258 million
* Save the Children, Saving Newborn Lives - $110 million
* United Way of King County, Seattle, WA, - $55 million
* Knowledgeworks Foundation - $20 million
* National Council of Culture & Arts, Mexico Library Project - $11.7 million
* Public Access Computing Hardware Upgrade Program, Multiple library systems - $5.3 million

* As of February 2006



 
Smilemaker100 said:
About 6 months ago, I came across a book hot off the press entitled " Race Against Time" (2005) written by Stephen Lewis, UN Secretary- General's special envoy for HIV/AIDS i.....
[/I]

Thanks a lot. I have a gift certificate for my university bookstore, I think I will pick it up.
 
Akin,

First, thanks for your post. This bit from Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN surely inspired me and most others. Looking to do articles on this. However, just to comment on this slightly please you, the reader, should leave this site with the following thought.

The challenge to ending AIDS/HIV is not primarily economic. Look to my expansion on this thought in the near future.

HS

akinf said:
I just finished watching this television special on CNN and found it incredibly interesting. Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosted the special discussing a number of issues regarding HIV/AIDS. These included the curent state, opinions from a number of officials from various industries (pharmaceutical, government, HIV+ individuals, and NGOs). Essentially, I want to see from SDN the opinions on regarding some of these issues.

Some of these questions were asked.

1. What would you do to stop the spread and devastation of HIV?
2. What are we currently doing right and wrong is a move towards finding a cure/vaccine?
3. What type of legislation (if need be) could be introduced in places like Europe, Canada, and the United States to alleviate our HIV/AIDS problem and those of other countries?
4. How can we go about improving the situation in the most devastated areas (Africa, India, and Latin America)?


The Chairman & CEO of Pfizer mentioned that it costs money for the research into these medications. However, pharmaceutical companies are not forced to disclose their operations costs. So, even though millions of people are dying world wide from HIV/AIDS, pharmaceutical companies and developed countries continue to make billions of dollars from medication. How can these parties help developing countries to make the financial burden of access to proper medication easier? Please, all opinions welcome.
 
HighSpeed said:
Akin,

First, thanks for your post. This bit from Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN surely inspired me and most others. Looking to do articles on this. However, just to comment on this slightly please you, the reader should leave this site with the following thought.

The challenge to ending AIDS/HIV is not primarily economic. Look to my expansion on this thought in the near future.

HS

No, I think the AIDS/HIV problem is largely economic because those individuals that are mostly devastated by the disease, are mostly found in the underdeveloped countries on the continents of Asia and Africa. Many patients affected by AIDS/HIV have a very bad prognosis as they cannot afford the cost of the very expensive retroviral medications. The pharmaceutical industry has not made great efforts to lower the costs of these meds for those individuals living in those countries.

The problem is also largely due to a lack of education. If you read Stephen Lewis`s book "Race Against Time", you will conclude, as he did, that part of the preventive solution to the problem involves educating the women in Africa.

Politics evidently would be another causal factor for the AIDS/HIV problem as the economic situation is heavily affected by the political state of the country.
Many African countries have been involved in tribal warfare. South Africa, (which has one of the worst HIV rates of all African countries) although presently democratic, still doesn`t have a very stable political situation as there are often tribal wars. There is also a lack of education among black South Africans.

Economics and education have a direct linear relationship. Education and HIV prevention also have a direct linear relationship. So the solution lies in giving financial aid to the countries in question (or ideally, changing the political regime) and educating the populace as well.
 
HighSpeed said:
Akin,

First, thanks for your post. This bit from Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN surely inspired me and most others. Looking to do articles on this. However, just to comment on this slightly please you, the reader, should leave this site with the following thought.

The challenge to ending AIDS/HIV is not primarily economic. Look to my expansion on this thought in the near future.

HS

The initial expansion on this point is a scenario in a suburban neighborhood. It also highlights the power of intention which we need to generate to conquer the AIDS epidemic. Please read.

Picture this,
A broke (financially challenged) individual with a thought about stopping AIDS walks into his friends workplace (its a call center that employs young men and women with age ranging from their late teens to late twentys). He says "Why dont we do a show about the end of AIDS. You can rap about it, Angel can sing about it. We can invite Heather, she just got a job as "Research Journalist" with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention). When Heather comes to the show she can invite her friend Jack who just got promoted to Lab Inspector at the CDC. We can get Bryan and Dewayne (two broke but highly talented DJs) to do the sound control for the show. Bryan and Dewayne can bring their buddies Ike and Jane to create and manage the video side of the show. While they're discussing this at the break room Tanya, who works marketing at the front office says "It is a brilliant plan" and that she will not only volunteer but bring her other two marketing buddies who are juniors in college and are broke as well. Well, everybody is broke but they all intend to stop AIDS. Keep reading!

The friends agree to meet at their neighborhood "Open Mic" night and discuss this (open mic is usually free). They also invite their friends who are broke comedians. Together all of them (still broke) approach a neighborhood hotel that has a 1000square foot ballroom available. They tell the Sales Agent "We intend on stopping AIDs in our community by having an AIDS awareness talent show. If you would please donate your hall we can make this happen".
The Sales Agent (another girl in her twenties), pauses and starts to say "Well, I'm sorry but....". Of course before she could finish her sentence the Sales Manager walks in and says in a gruff but authoritative voice "I'll allow it! Tell me when you want to do it and the hall is yours!" (He intends to stop AIDS as well, dead on it's tracks!). Click here to keep reading
 
This is NFL quaterback Carson Palmer talking about his torn ACL...

The message was one of many received by Carson Palmer in the dizzying two days between the severe knee injury he suffered against the Steelers in January and reconstructive surgery -- "So many," the Bengals quarterback recalls wryly, "it was like I was dying of AIDS"-- and it stood out only because it came from the sole NFL passer who'd had a better statistical season in 2005.

No, really Carson, it wasn't... :rolleyes:
 
What an idiot, Carson that is.
 
HighSpeed said:
The initial expansion on this point is a scenario in a suburban neighborhood. It also highlights the power of intention which we need to generate to conquer the AIDS epidemic. Please read.

Picture this,
A broke (financially challenged) individual with a thought about stopping AIDS walks into his friends workplace (its a call center that employs young men and women with age ranging from their late teens to late twentys). He says "Why dont we do a show about the end of AIDS. You can rap about it, Angel can sing about it. We can invite Heather, she just got a job as "Research Journalist" with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention). When Heather comes to the show she can invite her friend Jack who just got promoted to Lab Inspector at the CDC. We can get Bryan and Dewayne (two broke but highly talented DJs) to do the sound control for the show. Bryan and Dewayne can bring their buddies Ike and Jane to create and manage the video side of the show. While they're discussing this at the break room Tanya, who works marketing at the front office says "It is a brilliant plan" and that she will not only volunteer but bring her other two marketing buddies who are juniors in college and are broke as well. Well, everybody is broke but they all intend to stop AIDS. Keep reading!

The friends agree to meet at their neighborhood "Open Mic" night and discuss this (open mic is usually free). They also invite their friends who are broke comedians. Together all of them (still broke) approach a neighborhood hotel that has a 1000square foot ballroom available. They tell the Sales Agent "We intend on stopping AIDs in our community by having an AIDS awareness talent show. If you would please donate your hall we can make this happen".
The Sales Agent (another girl in her twenties), pauses and starts to say "Well, I'm sorry but....". Of course before she could finish her sentence the Sales Manager walks in and says in a gruff but authoritative voice "I'll allow it! Tell me when you want to do it and the hall is yours!" (He intends to stop AIDS as well, dead on it's tracks!). Click here to keep reading

The above was an expansion of the notion that "The End of AIDS" is not primarily economic. It was written in lay terms, the closest strategy to a common denominator to all readers. You can look to see the expansion on the rest of this point later on. Pls stay tuned to this thread. Subscribe to this thread actually so you know when an update gets posted to the topic. You can correspond with the topic via laptop, cell phone, or whatever ubiquitous technology that you're using.
 
Sex and aids are correlated. In the 19th century, sex was the disease and now, itz the cure! So...can we cure the cure for the incurable sick people? Nopes...aids cannot end...I can only see it increasing..
 
Your comment makes no sense to me, how is sex a cure for anything? Also, why do you suggest that AIDS cannot end? Is it because you think it cannot be cured, or because due to the nature of the disease, the things people do on a regular occasion only perpetuate it? Can you please clarify your statement.
 
Quarantine. Abstinence. Stop using drugs. There, we just solved AIDS.
Since we've never cured a viral disease maybe we should prevent it.
 
Maybe not, but vaccination is a possibility. Right now, researchers at my university (University of Manitoba) are probably one of the closest research groups in the world to finding a vaccine. They are investigating a cohort of Kenyan sex-trade workers that have proven immunity against all strains of HIV. This is an indication that there could be a vaccine (or a cure) one day out there.

Quarantine. Abstinence. Stop using drugs. There, we just solved AIDS.
Since we've never cured a viral disease maybe we should prevent it.

Why would we quarantine people with HIV? HIV is not considered an air-borne disease or highly communicable disease. Abstinence definitely would work. Encouraging teenagers to wait and get tested before having sex could prove effective, however, this often clashes with some cultural and traditional values, so its effect would likely be limited. The suggestion of stopping to use drugs is vague. I assume you mean stop sharing needles among intravenous drug users. This is a blatant stereotype that would get a hostile response in most public settings, however, here I will assume you are unaware that the disease is usually transmitted through heterosexual intercourse. However, a decrease in needle sharing would also contribute to the spread of HIV in areas where that is a common method of infection.
 
akinf said:
Why would we quarantine people with HIV? HIV is not considered an air-borne disease or highly communicable disease. Abstinence definitely would work. Encouraging teenagers to wait and get tested before having sex could prove effective, however, this often clashes with some cultural and traditional values, so its effect would likely be limited. The suggestion of stopping to use drugs is vague. I assume you mean stop sharing needles among intravenous drug users. This is a blatant stereotype that would get a hostile response in most public settings, however, here I will assume you are unaware that the disease is usually transmitted through heterosexual intercourse. However, a decrease in needle sharing would also contribute to the spread of HIV in areas where that is a common method of infection.
Hey, if you want to end AIDS, quarantine everyone with the disease. It's a fact. Sure, it won't happen, but that doesn't change the facts. BTW, sexually transmitted cases are most commonly a result of homosexual sodomy. Sorry to rock the boat.
 
tx oms said:
Hey, if you want to end AIDS, quarantine everyone with the disease. It's a fact. Sure, it won't happen, but that doesn't change the facts. BTW, sexually transmitted cases are most commonly a result of homosexual sodomy. Sorry to rock the boat.

I'm starting to get really confused as to whether your comments are serious or you are just joking. If they are serious, then I am a little startled; if you are joking, then you need to come up with some better stuff.
 
Why doesn't the government force mandatory aids testing for all citizens like we do for TB. Passing it on when you know you have it is a felony. An easy way to quarantine anyone who is causing the spread.
 
akinf said:
I'm starting to get really confused as to whether your comments are serious or you are just joking. If they are serious, then I am a little startled; if you are joking, then you need to come up with some better stuff.

Eh, just another mental giant making the rounds. It's the same solution I came up with... when I was an 8th grader.
 
akinf said:
I'm starting to get really confused as to whether your comments are serious or you are just joking. If they are serious, then I am a little startled; if you are joking, then you need to come up with some better stuff.
Uh, no joke. It's true. Sorry if that doesn't jive with your lifestyle.
 
tx oms said:
Hey, if you want to end AIDS, quarantine everyone with the disease. It's a fact. Sure, it won't happen, but that doesn't change the facts. BTW, sexually transmitted cases are most commonly a result of homosexual sodomy. Sorry to rock the boat.

It's true that having anal intercourse poses a higher risk to contracting HIV due to the sensitivity of the tissue in the anal canal, but having anal intercourse isn't just a homosexual sexual act. It's an act that can and is done by many heterosexual individuals. As I learned in class, there isn't such a thing as homosexual or gay sex. There's only sexual acts that pose a higher or lower rate of HIV transmission.
 
tx oms said:
Uh, no joke. It's true. Sorry if that doesn't jive with your lifestyle.

I didn't say your idea to quarantine wouldn't work, I'm questioning the idea of why you think that's even reasonable.
 
akinf said:
I didn't say your idea to quarantine wouldn't work, I'm questioning the idea of why you think that's even reasonable.
I said it would work. I didn't say it would happen. In fact, I said it wouldn't happen. Is it reasonable? Depends on how much people really want to end AIDS. It's like obeseity: how bad do you want to be thin? Will you use self discipline (abstinence or self quarantine) or will you rely on something radical (bariatric surgery)? If the country decides we are serious about stopping AIDS, we'll quarantine. Like someone else said, TB patients are compelled, by law, to be quarantined. If you have TB you aren't allowed to avoid treatment. It's just reality.
 
mellowt said:
It's true that having anal intercourse poses a higher risk to contracting HIV due to the sensitivity of the tissue in the anal canal, but having anal intercourse isn't just a homosexual sexual act. It's an act that can and is done by many heterosexual individuals. As I learned in class, there isn't such a thing as homosexual or gay sex. There's only sexual acts that pose a higher or lower rate of HIV transmission.
Holy crap, man! Are you able to think critically for yourself?! No such thing as homosexual sex? What else do you call it, sex between two men? Just because a prof tells you something doesn't make it the final word.

Here are the latest US statistics from the CDC website

Add it up: 40,910 people were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2001 in the 35 areas studied. 16,625 (40.6%, the plurality of patients) were due to homosexual encounters. If you add homosexual encounters to IV drug use among homosexuals, the new total is 18,150 (44.3% of cases). 2002, 2003, and 2004 are similar.

Now look at this. Clearly, of patient subgroups living with HIV/AIDS, the plurality is homosexual men. AIDS has been and is still a disease largely found in the IV drug using and homosexual community. Based on this page, if you are a male living with HIV/AIDS in the US, there is a 12% chance you caught it from heterosexual sex. In other words, there is an 88% chance you caught it from IV drugs or homosexual contact.

Sorry.
 
tx oms said:
Holy crap, man! Are you able to think critically for yourself?! No such thing as homosexual sex? What else do you call it, sex between two men? Just because a prof tells you something doesn't make it the final word.

Here are the latest US statistics from the CDC website

Add it up: 40,910 people were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2001 in the 35 areas studied. 16,625 (40.6%, the plurality of patients) were due to homosexual encounters. If you add homosexual encounters to IV drug use among homosexuals, the new total is 18,150 (44.3% of cases). 2002, 2003, and 2004 are similar.

Now look at this. Clearly, of patient subgroups living with HIV/AIDS, the plurality is homosexual men. AIDS has been and is still a disease largely found in the IV drug using and homosexual community. Based on this page, if you are a male living with HIV/AIDS in the US, there is a 12% chance you caught it from heterosexual sex. In other words, there is an 88% chance you caught it from IV drugs or homosexual contact.

Sorry.

I suspect this is really just an anti-gay rant on your part and doesn't have much to do with HIV. I guess that's why you advocate quarantine - you'd kill two birds with one stone (you think). You invited me to call you a bigot - you got it buddy.

That may be true in the US (that 44.3% of HIV cases originated from unprotected sex between men), but it's far from true in places like Africa, India, and Russia. And those places eclipse the US in terms of the prevalence of HIV (except for India simply because its population is so huge).

However, quarantine is absolutely the wrong way to go. Extend your mind to what that would look like. Family and loved ones shipped off to some gulag where they are cut off from society and left to die - all for a disease that is not (unlike leprosy) transmitted easily from person to person.

Education is still the best prevention method, but OH! GUESS WHAT? The current administration has it's head so far into heaven that it believes that only abstinence should be taught even though that is not even slightly realistic. What's next? You'll propose that people who aren't procreating be chemically neutered?
 
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