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Editorials
Monday, March 5, 2001AIDS crisis in
Africa demands
U.S. attentionThe issue: Millions of people in southern Africa are dying of AIDS, with devastating results.
IT'S time people in the rich, developed countries did something to help the millions of poor people who are stricken with AIDS and can't afford treatment.
The AIDS epidemic has already killed nearly 20 million people. Another 34 million are infected with the HIV virus and are likely to die within the next decade. Moreover, another five million people are being infected with the virus each year.
In the United States, Europe and other developed countries, the disease is becoming more manageable. Infection rates are low. New treatments are prolonging the life spans of patients. Pharmaceutical companies are developing new drugs designed to make AIDS a chronic, or treatable, disease.
The situation is grimmer in Africa south of the Sahara, where 25 million people have HIV or AIDS, and elsewhere in the poor regions of the world. In the hardest-hit African countries, as many as 70 percent of teen-agers are expected to die.
AIDS therapy generally costs more than $10,000 per person per year, far beyond the means of people in the poor countries.
Some AIDS experts have accused the pharmaceutical companies of pricing their therapies beyond the reach of almost everyone in the developing world. But the drug companies say they have discounted some AIDS drugs and even offered others free. They say the problem is not drug prices but a lack of infrastructure in most poor countries.
In addition, some authorities contend that preventing the disease from spreading is more important than drugs and treatment.
Many non-governmental organizations are working to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa and Asia by promoting safe sexual practices and distributing condoms. Others advocate sexual abstinence.
Clearly, the problem is complex. Still, more must be done even before all the questions are resolved.
Recently a generic drug manufacturer in India announced that it would sell a cocktail of AIDS medications for $600 per person per year to governments in low-income countries -- an apparent breakthrough on the price front.
An attempt is being made to organize relief efforts by the rich nations, by negotiating down the price of drug cocktails and launching pilot programs in two African countries. The cost may run from $10-20 billion per year, of which the United States would pay $3 billion.
Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs maintains that the richest nations could wage a serious campaign against AIDS and other killer diseases that trap Africa in poverty "without raising a sweat." Sachs estimates that the global cost to the wealthy nations would be less than a penny out of every $10 of their combined gross national product.
Some authorities argue that AIDS is a security threat as well as a health crisis because it has the potential to destabilize all of southern Africa, and perhaps Southeast Asia, India and China. Secretary of State Colin Powell has acknowledged that the crisis in southern Africa presents national security concerns for the United States.
It will not win many votes, but the Bush team ought to turn its attention from promoting its tax-cut proposals long enough to put together a serious plan to address the AIDS crisis in Africa -- for the sake of Americans as well as Africans.
Estrada’s last chance
ANY lingering doubts about the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada have been dispelled by the unanimous decision of the Philippine Supreme Court affirming the legitimacy of his successor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The decision should strengthen the position of the new president and help her advance her program of reform.
Estrada had argued that he never resigned his office when he left the presidential palace Jan. 20. He had asked the court to declare Arroyo only acting president. She was hastily sworn in amid massive protests against the corruption-ridden Estrada administration.
The 68-page ruling said Estrada effectively quit when he fled the presidential palace grounds while tens of thousands of protesters outside clamored for his resignation.
Moreover, the high court voted to deny Estrada immunity from prosecution. Disclosures that he amassed millions of dollars in bribes in less than three years in office led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives. Estrada's trial in the Senate ended in an uproar when his supporters blocked the disclosure of financial data described as evidence of the former president's illicit accumulation of wealth.
Now that Estrada has been overthrown, preliminary steps have been taken to prosecute him criminally. That is what his plea for immunity was about.
Estrada is under investigation on several charges including economic plunder, misuse of funds, violations of the anti-graft law, perjury, bribery and possession of unexplained wealth. He has been forbidden to leave the country.
The overthrow of Estrada has been criticized because he was the winner of a democratic election. However, the wave of protest against his corrupt behavior -- and frustration over the blockage of the presentation of evidence in the Senate trial -- was overwhelming.
With all the major elements of Philippine society, including the armed forces, arrayed against him, Estrada's position was hopeless. Estrada was not removed by the method prescribed by the constitution, but the court acknowledged the reality that he could not fulfill the duties of president.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
Frank Bridgewater, Acting Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
