DESPITE irrefutable proof that HIV treatments have proven benefits, AIDS denialists continue to deny their value. In a paper just published the journal AIDS and Behavior, Professor Myron Essex and Dr Pride Chigwedere, from the Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative in the US, provide additional proof that withholding HIV treatments with proven benefits led to the death of 330 000 people in South Africa as the result of AIDS denialist policies. They also show that the harm has not been reversed and highlight that when denialism enters public health practice, as in South Africa, the consequences are disastrous. AIDS denialists refute that HIV causes AIDS, that antiretroviral drugs are useful, and lastly, that millions of people worldwide have died from AIDS. AIDS denialists represent a growing movement that has considerable visibility on the Internet. Despite their views, it is estimated that from 2000 to 2005, at least 330 000 South Africans died prematurely and 35 000 babies were infected with HIV as a result of former president Thabo Mbeki's decision to withhold antiretroviral drugs, based on advice from American AIDS denialists. In their thought-provoking paper, Essex and Chigwedere review the potent effects of HIV treatments and their missed opportunities in South Africa. They respond persuasively to AIDS denialist arguments with robust scientific evidence. They also discuss the key implications of the relationship between AIDS denialism and public health practice, using South Africa as the example. Finally, they argue for accountability for the human rights violations and loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, as well as the need to reform public health practice to include standards and accountability. The authors conclude that there is a need for honesty and peer review in situations that impact public health policy. When AIDS denialism enters public health practice, the consequences are tragic. The implications start in honest science but extend to the need for accountability and, perhaps, public health reform.
Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative
BRITISH MPs have been called upon to introduce a number of public health policies to improve the nation's health. The UK Faculty of Public Health and the Royal Society for Public Health have launched a joint manifesto containing 12 practical steps that could help to tackle problems such as obesity, heart disease, alcohol misuse and sexually-transmitted infections. For instance, experts want to see a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol sold, a ban on smoking in cars with children and the provision of Chlamydia screening for first-year students at universities and colleges. Other recommendations include a ban on junk food advertising, dedicated school nurses in all secondary schools and a system of presumed consent for organ donation. Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, commented that each of these sensible, practical steps could have a significant impact on people's health. Chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health Professor Richard Parish added that the country faced unprecedented challenges to public health and that the time to act was now. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said that he welcomed the effort to push public health to the top of the political agenda.
Netdoctor.co.uk, 20 January 2010
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