Reading the NRC Handelsblad of yesterday, I come across this article. For those of you who don’t read Dutch, here is the BBC’s version of more or less the same issues.
In short, the South African government, and specifically the intellectually (greatly) challenged minister of health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, believe that AIDS and HIV should be treated with cutting-edge medication such as garlic, lemons and beetroots. To add insult to injury, at the South African stall at the international AIDS conference in Toronto, representatives were demonstrating said garlic, lemons and beetroots.
I agree heartily with the strong criticism of Stephen Lewis (UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa) and of the protesters demanding that Tshabala-Msimang be arrested for her crimes against the South African people. It’s bad enough that Mbeki (the president) denied the link between HIV and AIDS for years, and that Zuma (yet another idiot member of the SA government) recently claimed that showering after unprotected sex decreases the chance of infection.
Remember: Every day, 800 South Africans die of AIDS.