Copyright 2000 The Seattle Times Company
The
Seattle Times
May 12, 2000, Friday Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B6
LENGTH: 394 words
HEADLINE:
Politics of AIDS relief add to Africa's
suffering
BODY:
AFTER Congress pulled language from
an Africa trade bill that would have made it easier for poor
countries there to acquire HIV/AIDS drugs, President Clinton
accomplished the goal by executive directive.
Almost simultaneously,
five major pharmaceutical companies announced they would offer dramatic
discounts to sub-Saharan nations overwhelmed by the disease. They had to act or
risk losing even greater amounts of money.
Clinton filled a domestic
leadership void, but he must also lead globally on financial resources. The
world has watched as AIDS devastated Africa.
Eighty percent of all people infected with HIV are in Africa.
Thirty-four million in sub-Saharan Africa have been infected
and 12 million have died.
Drug companies fear that without price cuts on
wildly profitable drugs, desperate African nations will turn to cheaper generic
drugs produced by countries in violation of U.S. patents.
Clinton allows
Africa to follow World Trade Organization
intellectual-property rules that are more flexible on license
fees for manufacture and imports.
For dirt-poor countries, this is a ray
of hope, but not a panacea. Even reduced prices are not truly affordable, and
the medical and social infrastructure to make the treatments effective is almost
nonexistent.
One popular combination of ATZ and 3TC might be available
for $2 per day, but it is most effective with a protease
inhibitor that costs another $5 to $7 per day.
Suddenly the costs are beyond most incomes.
Sub-Saharan
Africa cannot get a break. Currency devaluations have pushed up
the cost of drugs. With cheaper medicines, there is fear that political
corruption will skew how the drugs are distributed. Even the specter of civil
unrest is raised when supply does not meet demand.
Medical
considerations abound. Taking HIV/AIDS drugs requires a
disciplined regimen under a doctor's supervision. Trying to stretch a
prescription by taking less can cause the virus to change in unpredictable ways.
Follow-up tests to gauge a drug's effectiveness are as rare as rubber gloves.
Africa has not escaped the social upheaval that hit
Thailand and other places with an AIDS epidemic. The pursuit of
disease-free sex partners made targets of ever younger females. The tragedy just
compounds itself.
Africa needs help, and a meager
ration is coming with AIDS drugs.
LOAD-DATE: May 14, 2000
