I believe that AIDS is currently the greatest threat to mankind. My initial anger came from news reports in which it was reported that African doctors had to lie to their patients, telling them that there was nothing they could do to treat the disease because these patients could never afford the AIDS drugs which have become so effective. I have always had a deep interest in Third World issues, as my bachelor of arts is in Third World development and Economics attests. I have lived extensively in the Third World, especially Latin America and India, and I was struck by the ignorance of AIDS and safe sex in poor countries. I brought up the issue with my church - Living Christ Community Church. They are going to appoint a committee to study the best way to deal with the issue in our church. 

This current AIDS crisis is comparable to the Bubonic plague or "Black Death" in the 13th century, which wiped out a third of Europe's population. The disease, of course, is international, going beyond Africa. Richard Holbrook, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, recently stated that India may have 40 million infected with HIV. The figures for AIDS infections are very rough estimates. Only 5 percent of the infected population in Africa know that they are infected. 

Heterosexual sex with multiple partners is the leading cause of AIDS. In many African countries, men must live far from their families to find work, and they often take on mistresses or have sex with prostitutes. The disease is also spread through the military. Sixty to Seventy percent of South African soldiers and 80 percent of Zimbabwean soldiers may be infected. Nonetheless, in Africa, most AIDS victims are now women. In Zimbabwe, a woman may be beaten or sent away if she insists that her partner wear a condom. In Zambia and other countries, some women dry out the vagina before sex - a practice that increases sores in the vagina and transmission of HIV.

Good educational programs are sorely lacking in Africa. Some men even believe that having sex with a virgin cures them of the infection. In a recent survey in Zambia, most adolescents thought they would never get AIDS because they were not prostitutes. Most were aware of free condom distribution, but they did not use condoms because of interference with sexual pleasure. 

We have come extremely far in prolonging life and increasing quality of life through AIDS drugs. Tragically, with only $10 to spend on each patient per year in some Third World countries, it is unrealistic to make providing AIDS drugs a top priority. It is more cost effective to work on AIDS prevention, orphan care, and treatment of infections such as tuberculosis and pneumonia for AIDS patients. In Africa, an AIDS orphan can be fed for a dollar or two per day and educated for $100 per year. 

One way to prevent the spread of AIDS is to treat other sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea and syphilis. One study in Tanzania showed that the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases reduced HIV infection by 40 percent. This is because these diseases produce open sores in genital areas that increase blood contact and therefore HIV exposure. The risk of spreading HIV from pregnant and nursing mothers to their children is also easy to prevent through drugs. 

The spread of AIDS could also be curbed by reducing the price of AIDS drugs. Five major drug companies recently announced they would drastically reduce costs in very poor countries by as much as 80-90 percent. They refused to say that they would sell drugs at cost, because that would reveal how much profit is made on AIDS drugs. Some observers have estimated that in Western countries pharmaceutical companies mark up the cost of AIDS drugs by as much as 90 percent. 

There has also been a push recently by AIDS activists to allow the use of generic AIDS drugs. One objection to the World Trade Organization is that it pressures poor countries to honor U.S. patent laws. Generic drugs are "illegally" manufactured in some countries and sold at a fraction of the cost of the non-generic variety. The Clinton administration has announced that it will be flexible and allow some very poor countries to import these generic drugs. 

Some other legislative issues are also affecting the AIDS crisis. One of these is the issue of debt relief. African nations spend twice as much paying off foreign debts as they do on health care. The U.S. congress passed legislation to forgive some debts owed to the United States in late 1999, butmore legislation is needed to appropriate the debt-relief money and to provide more debt relief. Recently, members of Congress have become reluctant to appropriate the funds approved for debt relief. 

It would help if the U.S. government would authorize increased funding for AIDS relief in Third World countries. The measures called for by UNAIDS require a six-fold increase in funding by wealthy countries and a 20-fold increase in spending by the victimized countries. 

What can we do? Educate yourself and others. You never know when you will have the opportunity to use your knowledge. And don't forget to contact your political leaders.

I am interested in forming a local study/action group on the AIDS issue. Isolation makes us feel powerless, and doing work as a group is more fun. Please contact me at 522-0536 if you are interested in participating. I would envision this group as meeting once or twice per month and engaging in a variety of activities, including educating ourselves and the community about AIDS in Africa, writing letters to politicians about the crisis, and fundraising. If you do not have the time to commit to such a group, but would like to be part of a network of individuals who are concerned about the issue, please contact me.