Mr. Fleez' Agony Session #23: A Question of Causes.

Dear Mr. Fleez,

Why is AIDS so bad in Africa?

Anonymous.



Dear Anonymous,

Scientists and sociologist have long believed that the prevalence of HIV throughout Africa is due to an overly promiscuous culture. However, since the implementation of programmes for HIV awareness and public education have brought about a drop in sexually transmitted occurrences, some serious questions are raised regarding the medical policies of international organisations such as WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNAIDS. Many now believe that Third World medical practices are to blame for the persistence of HIV in Africa, and independent studies have shown that unsafe injections administered in hospitals, clinics, and vaccination programmes play a greater role than previously believed.

Critics of international efforts suggest that between 20 and 40 percent of infections are spread by the use of contaminated needles. WHO and UNAIDS officials, doggedly focusing on their "safe sex" campaign, credit them with a marginal 2.5 percent. I'm not disregarding the need for continued social education, but I consider it appalling that when faced with these findings, such trusted organisations reacted by minimising the risks of using improperly sterilized needles.

New Scientist attributed one particularly ludicrous rationalization to George Schmid, a senior HIV researcher with WHO in Geneva, Switzerland: Apparently, he believes that "rinsing equipment twice in water reduces the chances of HIV infection 95%." This same individual was also credited with the equally ridiculous suggestion that because "most injections involve jabbing the needle into muscle rather than into a vein…this makes blood contamination less likely, it also reduces the chances of passing on the virus." I wonder if that attitude would satisfy the Swiss government.

Although this is still a greatly debated topic, few dispute the need for both social education and medical advancement in Africa. So, to answer your question more precisely, the principal catalyst for this horrid disease is, and has always been, ignorance of one sort or another.

Yours Purringly,
W.C. Humphries II (Mr. Fleez for short.)


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