 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Robben Island, South Africa (AFP) May 3, 2011 Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday hailed South Africa's turnaround on AIDS, going from denialism to the roll-out of the world's largest treatment programme. "It is like a breath of fresh air," said Tutu on the apartheid-era prison Robben Island, where the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention was meeting. "For many many years, we were gravely embarrassed in most of our international gatherings because of what we were doing or not doing in this country," Tutu said. Under former president Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's government had openly questioned the causes of AIDS. His health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang had promoted garlic and beetroot instead of medication. But now one million people are receiving anti-AIDS drugs in South Africa, which has the world's most HIV infections, affecting 5.6 million of the 50-million population, according to UN estimates. The country has also rolled out massive testing and prevention drives, including male circumcision and testing in schools. The meeting at Robben Island was meant to be a symbolic passing of the torch from an older generation of activists to younger people who were brought to meet Tutu and others fighting to stop the disease.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola
Large differences in mortality between urban and isolated rural areasOslo, Norwary (SPX) May 02, 2011 In urban communities, less than 1 in 100 inhabitants died from Spanish flu in 1918, but in isolated communities up to 9 out of 10 died. An important explanation for the differences is due to different exposure to influenza in the decades before the Spanish flu came. Those living in urban communities probably had a higher degree of pre-existing immunity that protected against illness and de ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
