"They do not use Western means to tell time. They use the sun. These drugs have to be administered in certain sequences, at certain times during the day. You say, take it at 10 o'clock, they say, what do you mean, 10 o'clock?" They, of course, refers to "Africans" and the above logic from the head of USAID was used an explanation for why it's tough to extend AIDS treatment to Africa. The only problem with this argument is that it's wrong. People with HIV in developing countries are in better compliance with drug regimes than in the US as new research is showing [RealAudio]. As we've seen throughout the epidemic, it's a lot easier to get funding for researchers in lab coats than for actual treatment . . .
posted by donovan on Dec 1, 2003 - 1 comment

Is Bill Really that bad? Giving away money steadily, tens of millions of dollars at a time, Mr Bill Gates has become the single most influential force trying to reverse the growing health crisis afflicting the world's poor. With his wife, Melinda, he outspent the United States Government last year by nearly $US300 million ($538 million), to fight global health threats such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
posted by murray_kester on Dec 25, 2000 - 52 comments

AIDS? SHMAIDS! Have you heard the news? "A growing group of bio-medical scientists claim the cause of AIDS is still unknown. These heretics do not believe in a lethal AIDS virus. They claim that the virus is indeed harmless. Most of them think AIDS is also not sexually transmitted; it probably has toxic causes. People die because they are poisoned to death by antiviral drugs. Part of the AIDS dissidents even question the existence of a virus entity. These skeptics say that the AIDS virus has never really been isolated, and the AIDS tests are worthless..." Yeah. And my childhood dog really did go live on a nice farm after he was hit by a car.
posted by kristin on Dec 1, 2000 - 16 comments

Everyday life for a teenager with AIDS: Stephanie Lee Ray, a 12-year-old with AIDS, is proving the doctors wrong. She was not supposed to live past age 5, so she lives for every moment. She wants to play and grow and go to school. She has felt the effects of people's ignorance about the disease. She has suffered disapproving stares and comments.Rather than feel sorry for herself, she prefers to educate people to make wise choices. She knows that her life really counts. (The story is almost 2 years old, and the wonderful pix aren't archived with it, but it's worth reading anyway, especially for the feel of a life when any cold or simple fever can become a life-threatening crisis.)
posted by jhiggy on Dec 1, 2000 - 0 comments