AIDS toll leads to flood of bogus ''miracle'' cures
The authorities in Swaziland are doing little to stem a flood of bogus
"miracle AIDS cures" in a country with one of the world's highest HIV
infection rates.
"In a blink of an eye, it seems, Swazis have gone from deep denial of
the existence of AIDS to panic as they realise all the people they are burying
are not dying of witchcraft. The plethora of AIDS 'cures' is a product of
that," AIDS activist Thembi Dlamini told IRIN.
According to press reports, the supplier of one "AIDS vaccine" in
pill form, manufactured in Thailand, is providing the Swazi army with the drug,
although there is no proof of its efficacy.
Neither the army nor the drug's distributor, Sutitangwe Medical Services of
Mbabane, owned by two Thai nationals and a Swazi, would comment when IRIN
contacted them.
For R500 (US $77), which is more than the monthly take-home pay of an average
Swazi worker in industry and agriculture, a packet of 30 "HIV vaccine
pills" will purportedly protect a body's immune system from viral
infections for one month. One pill, called an V1 Immunitor, is taken orally
daily.
Ngwebendze Nhlabatsi, one of the drug's promoters, said in a statement:
"Nobody in the Ministry of Health is qualified to comment for or against
this pill. Neither the minister, the principal secretary nor the chief
pharmacist is qualified. In fact, nobody in the country is qualified to
comment."
Nhlabatsi's defiant stance underscored the lack of pharmaceutical regulation
in Swaziland. Police conduct regular raids against illegal narcotics, arresting
possessors of marijuana and other drugs, and burning marijuana fields. However,
laws governing medicinal drugs are either obsolete or not enforced.
"In the absence of a competent national medical system, it is as if the
authorities want people to find their own 'cures' through quack remedies,"
said Angelina Magongo, a nurse at a clinic in the capital Mbabane.
Only if individuals are poisoned by a "medicine" will the
authorities take action.
But this is done at the local level, through city and municipal health
inspectors who usually regulate the cleanliness of restaurants and abattoirs.
The Ministry of Health follows a laissez-faire policy toward so-called medicines
sold both through an informal sector network of sidewalk vendors and unlicensed
medicine dealers and at legitimate and licensed establishments.
As a result, one fad "cure" after another has begun to appear.
"I use herbs from Asia. I started in January. They are expensive. I
choose between them and new clothes. But I know they are helping me," said
Janice Simelane, a receptionist in the commercial city of Manzini who, like most
Swazis, will not publically admit she is HIV-positive.
Last month, UNAIDS reported that Swaziland had now tied with Botswana in
having the world's worst rate of infection among adults - about 40 percent of
the population.
The Swazi press has uncritically hailed the arrival of each new AIDS
"cure", focusing on the popularity of the fad drugs without
questioning their effectiveness.
A front-page story in the Times of Swaziland heralded the appearance of the
V1 Immunitor: "All the way from Thailand, a new wonder drug marketed as an
AIDS vaccine has hit the local market with a bang!"
The head of the education ministry's Exams Council, Dr Ben Dlamini, writes a
weekly column in the Swazi Observer newspaper announcing HIV vaccines and AIDS
cures, none of which have been proved legitimate.
This week, Dlamini, who is considered a national intellectual, wrote how
marijuana can cure AIDS. He told Swazis that Britain has a R1 billion (US $154
million) business providing cannabis-based pain killers to hospitals, and tests
are now underway to use the medicine to beat AIDS and cancer.
"There is no question that these tests will be confirmed, because
England's neighbour, the Netherlands, has already approved the use of cannabis
capsules for curing cancer and AIDS," he wrote.
From May through September this year, evangelical preachers from America and
Africa held mass "healing" sessions that were attended by tens of
thousands of Swazis. Advertisements for the events promised AIDS cures.
Meanwhile, it is still culturally taboo to admit one's HIV-positive status.
Psychiatrists say the strain of secrecy adds to stress caused by the medical
condition.
"People can snap, and become irrational. They grasp at anything that
offers hope," said Dr Thandie Malepe, director of the National Psychiatric
Centre.
A private medical practitioner in Manzini who preferred not to have his name
used, said the problem is that Swaziland has no drug-testing facility to verify
the safety and efficacy of medicines.
Ironically, it was the lack of such a facility that former health minister Dr
Phetsile Dlamini cited as the reason to ban antiretroviral (ARV) drugs from
Swaziland. As a result, Swaziland was excluded from a 14-nation US-financed
programme to use ARVs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Swaziland's exclusion from the programme was reportedly a contributing factor
to the kingdom's absence from President George Bush's multi-million dollar
African initiative, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
The minister's controversial stance delayed ARVs for five years. Only now are
they starting to trickle into the country.
"Proven life-saving medicines are denied the Swazi people. But any
charlatan can peddle any 'cure' he likes, and the health ministry won't lift a
finger," said activist Dlamini. - IRIN
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[This Item is may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003]
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