Time to Listen to Mbeki Instead of ‘Crucifying’ Him, Physician Argues
While South African President Thabo Mbeki has evoked "scorn" and "disgust" from the media and AIDS activists for his controversial stance on HIV/AIDS, Raymond Downing, a Western-trained physician at Friends Lugulu Hospital in western Kenya, argues in an allAfrica.com/Nation op-ed that instead of "crucifying" Mbeki, the West should "seriously" consider his "maverick" position. Downing notes that although Mbeki has garnered "ridicule" from the media for denying the causal link between HIV and AIDS, the international media has "ignored" the fact that "Africa is beginning to think about its own response to AIDS." In addition, although Mbeki refuses to provide pregnant women with antiretroviral drugs -- a treatment "hailed" by the West as "inexpensive and effective" -- to reduce the incidence of
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.