Globe and Mail Profiles Events Leading Up To South African AIDS Advocate’s Decision To Take AIDS Drugs
Toronto's Globe and Mail on Saturday profiled Zackie Achmat, the HIV-positive head of the AIDS treatment advocacy group Treatment Action Campaign who "has become the face of the fight for [antiretroviral] drugs in South Africa." According to the Globe and Mail, the events leading up to Achmat's recent decision to begin antiretroviral drug therapy is "a story that shows that AIDS in Africa is not only an unrelenting slide into disaster: Something can be done, although at enormous cost" (Nolen, Globe and Mail, 9/13). Achmat had previously refused to begin drug therapy until the South African government committed to a national treatment plan. He announced his decision to take the drugs following the government's announcement that the first phase of a national antitretroviral treatment plan will be launched by 2004 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 9/9). The Globe and Mail examines Achmat's history with the African National Congress and TAC, as well as South African President Thabo Mbeki's position on HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral treatment, which "contradicted the positions of everyone from the World Health Organization to South Africa's own Medicines Control Council" (Globe and Mail, 9/13). The complete article is available online.
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.