AIDS in Africa
On June 14, 2003, Dr. Anthony Rees, director of Education and Research at HONERI, the Herbology and Optimal Nutrition Education and Research Institute in South Africa, addressed a Peace and Health Congress in The Hague.
During the congress, a detailed complaint was filed with the International Criminal Court, accusing US President George W. Bush, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and other top political figures, as well as executives of several multinational pharmaceutical corporations of genocide and crimes of war.
Reese, in his address, gives us an inside view of AIDS politics in South Africa. He explains how President Mbeki came to promote his country's courageous stance in breaking with pharmaceutical dictates on drug prices and treatment modalities for AIDS.
Related articles:Traditional medicine has role in war on AIDS
THE AFRICAN AIDS EPIDEMIC: NEW AND CONTAGIOUS - OR - OLD UNDER A NEW NAME? Duesberg
Speech by Dr. Anthony Rees in The Hague, June 14, 2003
Director: Herbology & Optimal Nutrition Education and Research Institute South Africa
Co-Coordinator PHARMAPACT South Africa
Hi everybody. I just want to make one thing clear here today. I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
I may be a white man and my skin may look inappropriate in accordance with the place where I come from [South Africa], but I am African. I was born in South Africa, I will always live in South Africa because it is my home and I love the people very much.
And that is the reason why I have joined this war against the pharmaceutical cartel which is engaged in genocide against millions of people in Africa, Asia and many other developing countries and developed countries around the world.
This has been clearly stated and demonstrated by the previous speakers before me.
Post-Apartheid South Africa has become a rather interesting place. It has become a wonderful land of opportunity. However, the land has also become a place of immense opportunity for the international Pharma Cartel.
After the 1994 elections of the first democratic government in South Africa, our government and its new leadership were in many senses oblivious to the pharmaceutical interests and the agenda of the multinational corporations who wished to exploit the country and its resources and plunder the last of its remaining finances which the country was left with as a result of the Apartheid leaders running away with most of the treasury.
When South Africa transformed into a democratic country with a clear lack of experienced leadership in the health care system, an opportunist group was formed called the "Health System's Trust". The "Health System's Trust" is a non-governmental organization that has worked closely with our government up until now to help underwrite health policies, to supposedly harmonize and modernize the health care system. This "Health System's Trust" is made up of various board members and directors and receives funding from the following organizations:
1 The Rockefeller Foundation2 The Commission of the European Union
3 The Kaiser Family Foundation
4 The Kellogg Foundation
5 The Ford Foundation
(See : http://www.hst.org.za )
Many of these organizations were in fact interlocked with the IG Farben Group during the Second World War. We have gone through the oppressive workings with the Apartheid Government through their overt control of oppressing people of a darker skin to a more covert and sinister multinational, financial fear-based system by holding countries ransom as far as the patents of medicines and the supply of drugs. This has been being augmented in the face of some of the most oppressing diseases in the Third World of which HIV-Aids is an example.
When we look at the "Health System's Trust" and the pharma-cartel it is interesting to note how the patent rights are developed.
The Pharma-cartel use the classic system of "problem-reaction-solution", to effect total control. What they [Pharma-cartel and the bio-medical establishment] did was to immediately change the protocols for the diagnosis of HIV and Aids by getting pharmaceutical companies who manufacture anti retroviral drugs to sponsor most of the diagnostic equipment for screening of HIV and Aids.
The protocols for the diagnosis of HIV-Aids were changed as well. What one does not realize is with HIV it should be considered a definitive protocol get a microscope and look at one's blood and say if there is an HIV virus present in a HIV-infected person. Until this day, no scientist has ever scientifically proven that the HIV virus causes AIDS. The cause of AIDS still remains highly illusive.
How Aids is diagnosed is through chemically screening for antibodies in the body for certain enzymes which are indicators that there is a problem with the immune system, coupled with looking at the white blood cell counts. Certain specialized white blood cells (CD4) are soldiers in the army which scavenges around your body, killing viruses etc.
What one does not realize is that there is no true international standard for the diagnosis of HIV. In America, for instance, you would need eleven of these markers or indicators prove that you have an HIV status as positive. If you go into Asia, you will need eight of these. In Southern Africa, under the "Health System's Trust" working closely with the South African government it was established that they will only use three or four of these markers to establish that a person was HIV positive.
These markers can appear from a variety of innocuous health conditions and common diseases. This is especially true when one's immune system is already compromised through other factors. Hence the reason why there are rather enlarged and over-inflated Aids statistics in Africa and many other Third World countries, is because of this bizarre unequal testing procedure worldwide. I believe the true reason why these diagnostic tests have been changed to reflect a higher proportion of so-called HIV sufferers is because it will allow for the selling of more drugs, plus it is going to allow the pharmaceutical cartel to dip their hands deeper and deeper into the treasuries of financially compromised States.
At the same time as this HIV-Aids issue has been brought forward, the President of our country, Thabo Mbeki was pricked by his conscience one evening while surfing on the Internet.
It is rumored that our President loves sitting on the Internet. Through this medium he did find the truth regarding the toxic potential and the ravaging effects of the antiretroviral drugs that the pharmaceutical companies were trying to force down the throat of people in Africa via its Department of Health. These so-called HIV drugs are not to be construed anyway as drugs to cure HIV or to even prolong a life. These anti retroviral drugs in many cases, such as AZT, which you may have heard about, are extremely toxic substances, which are still banned in many first world countries, including the United States.
A primary mechanism of this drug is to destroy the bone marrow of the body. We all know that the bone marrow of the body is where your leucocytes [CD4 Cells] are developed. The very soldiers that protect one from viral or bacterial induced disease. The pharmaceutical cartel has criminally spread propaganda of these inflated figures of HIV in order to sell these lethal drugs upon the unsuspecting citizens of the Developing World.
I am not going to say there is no problem with people dying on a massive scale; we have a massive problem with regards to people's immunes being compromised. I, among many other academics believe the cause of the 'HIV' phenomenon is due to malnutrition, excessive use of antibiotics, over vaccination and various other host factors, which I do not want to get into today.
The Pharma-cartel has forced these erroneous tests into the health care system to inflate these statistics of HIV so that they can sell their toxic drugs. Our president Thabo Mbeki realized that there was a tremendous problem when trying to find a balanced opinion. That night, while researching, he was faced with a huge ethical dilemma: It happened to be two or three days before he was going to allow the Minister to sign on a deal to order anti retroviral drugs for South Africa. His conscience allowed him to conduct further research. When he was convinced by the truth that these substances are in fact going to cause even more deaths in our country than HIV itself he took immediate action.
We have 9 provinces in our country. In the province where I grew up, there is apparently a prevalence of 70% 'HIV infection'. The media and the Pharma-Cartel Seven mislead us to believe that 7 out of 10 people that you shake hands back home have got Aids. This is criminal.
President Mbeki and his Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang took decisive action by researching the 'HIV causes AIDS' propaganda and found out quickly what they could do about these toxic drugs.
They went in meetings to these drug companies, explained the concerns about the toxicity of these drugs. The first thing these companies did was infiltrate the national press and sponsor groups, such as a Treatment Action Campaign. These Pharma-cartel-sponsored spin-controlled opposition groups were set up to place pressure on the government and its decision to halt the process of importation of anti retroviral drugs. Very soon after this the President was announced a 'Dissident To Science'. The Pharma-cartel has continued in vain to bring legal charges against our government and upon our Minister of Health for this very reason.
The South African government and the drug companies then were deadlocked and went into dialogue. The Pharma-Cartel then, in a desperate drive to steal from the people's tax funds admitted that their antiretroviral drugs were too expensive and that they would consider reducing the price up to 50%, however their patent rights still gave them the right to charge exorbitant fees at the 50% discount. The drug companies tried to motivate that they had spent a lot of money of research and development into these drugs and that they were prepared to lower the prices and give a discount on a bulk order of millions of tablets. [poisons] The amount of money that would have been spent on the purchase of those drugs would have taken away at least 50% of our national health budget, leaving other sectors of the economy and health care system under severe strain.
What happened next? The South African government made a monumental decision that they would no longer support these exorbitant prices of Pharma-cartel drugs and declared war on the Pharma-cartel. How South Africa decided to do this was to break the patent rights on drugs. A world first! Our president then called upon an international panel to be established to debate the cause of AIDS.
While using their research and protocols to suck money out of poor countries and to prolong the business with disease, the pharmaceutical companies were very threatened by South Africa. This was coupled with that fact that South Africa is now exploring natural health protocols and treatments for AIDS. This fear incited 39 of the largest drug companies to take our Government to our highest court in the land, namely the Constitutional Court. They even spread propaganda that they want invoke the Constitutional Right in South Africa to a healthy lifestyle, by proving that the government was not supplying these 'life-saving' drugs, and hence depriving the public of enjoying a healthy lifestyle.
The South African government stood its ground, knowing the truth and moved to amend the medicines regulations and to stand up against multinational Pharma giants. They took the monumentous decision to stop the business with disease and ignore the patent right structures and import cheaper drugs from other countries around the world that can produce them a lot cheaper, such as India and various countries in South America.
Al Gore, Deputy president of the United States flew over to South Africa during this war to intervene on behalf of the Pharma-cartel's interests. In his attempted negotiations [dictates] he actively threatened the country with sanctions. He stated that if we thought sanctions against our country were bad during Apartheid, there would also be dire consequences should South Africa break the patent rights with the pharmaceutical companies. I ask "Who is he working for to make those statements?" I would love to access a list of where he receives his campaign contributions.
The pharmaceutical companies continued their campaign to take the South African government to the Constitutional Court. Thabo Mbeki and his government threatened to expose the entire Pharma-cartel agenda to the world, as press releases became more revealing. A few weeks into the historic court case all 39 of the world's biggest drug companies mysteriously dropped their controversial legal challenge against South Africa. This is a huge victory for the developing world and a breakthrough in the fight against the business of disease.
What we have done in South Africa is set a precedent for others to follow. We as a State are not going to stand back. We will no longer be raped and pillaged, and no longer are going to be enslaved by the colonial masters of industry.
We WILL protect ourselves and look after ourselves first. The adage, "Charity begins at home" rings so true now. South Africa is going to be working with very strong efforts within the next few years to deal with the stigma of putting corporate wealth before public health, and I am sure you will be reading about it in the press in due course.
South Africa is now actively engaging in a completely new paradigm for the health care system. We are now going to be incorporating nutritional therapies using vitamins, minerals, traditional medicines and herbal medicines in our armory against disease, and integrate them into our health care system.
The business with disease in South Africa is coming to an end. The pharmaceutical companies and the people in this hall today who may be here from pharmaceutical companies: Please note, your time is up!
In January this year, the South African government established a team of experts who are now going to be looking at using natural health practices, looking at things like Dr. Rath's wonderful research contributions to the world in treating and really solving the problem of malnutrition in Southern Africa.
South Africa will also be embarking on a very vigorous campaign to lobby this very cause of fighting the Pharma-cartels and push for natural health care options throughout the whole Southern African region as the leader of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as use its chair of the African Union. We have already received numerous requests for strategic assistance from other countries in Africa with similar problems. All seem to be wanting to adopt the similar policies of looking at natural health and stopping the plunder of corporate wealth against public health.
Last year, I attended the Codex Alimentarius Commission's meeting of the World Health Organization as a member of the press from South Africa. I was barred from entering that meeting with a camera crew by the security at the gates, while protesting that there was no free press there, even though I was accredited as a press member to attend the meeting. This year I am attending as an official South African delegate. The tables do turn.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Rath for inviting me for a second round and to share the truth. I am sure, even if I am not invited again, I will be here on my own initiative because I really enjoy a good moral fight. I get inspired seeing all of you out here today and this is where I get my strength to go back home and carry on the work required. As long as we stand with the truth and walk on a high moral ground, we can not lose!
Thank you.
See also:
Are 26 million Africans dying of AIDS? - "the biggest lie of the century" under fire
"HIV/Aids," the paragraph said, "has exacted a tremendous toll in human suffering, death and lost productivity. Currently, of the 31 million adults and children living with HIV/Aids worldwide, 21 million of them live in Africa. Eighty per cent of all women with HIV/Aids are in Africa. As a result, life expectancy is declining, infant and child mortality are on the rise, and individuals' productivity and economic development are threatened. The insidous effects of HIV/Aids affect the entire spectrum of economic and social activities." Only a passing reference was made to malaria, the scientifically proven single biggest killer on the African continent. Why, after the failures of the past decade in Aids research and forecast, UNAIDS still wants the world to concentrate billions of dollars on HIV/Aids - a "disease" that is yet to be scientifically proven - at the expense of malaria, the already proven "biggest killer" of Africans, should worry us all.
Aids in Africa - the effects of malnutrition
All over Africa, poverty is a common denominator and it is not surprising that peoples immune systems have been damaged. WHO (World Health Organization) classes malnutrition as the number one killer on the African continent, poverty being the primary factor for AIDS.Reducing Aids in Africa
The sterility of global programs for HIV prevention is exemplified by the only debate that manages to capture media attention – whether abstinence or condoms are the solution to this very complex biological and socioeconomic problem. That debate demonstrates what is wrong with AIDS policy – it only addresses sexual behavior. Although sexual behavior is important, it does not explain the great variation in HIV prevalence around the world nor is it very sensitive to policy interventions for HIV prevention.This work discusses why AIDS policy has failed, explains some of the fundamental, but overlooked, causes of rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and suggests some ways policymakers can intervene effectively to reduce the transmission of HIV by reducing risk in the environment.
NOTEWORTHY SUCCESSES AGAINST AIDS IN AFRICA
The global concern has been almost hysterical over these last couple of decades, about Africans dying from AIDS and the need for antiretroviral treatment that is only lately beginning to be met. Yet for all this time, in virtual absence of treatment against the raging epidemic, Africa's population has been growing at a few percent per year. This is beginning to pose a tangible threat to already overburdened economies: "Recent reports from Uganda, Kenya and Burkina Faso show that rapid population growth is once again becoming a matter of public concern".The world's official left hands are telling us that Africa is being decimated by a fatal, incurable disease that in some countries like Botswana has infected a third of the population. The world's official right hands are wondering how to cope with the population explosion in Africa.
When will acknowledgment of reality, or just plain common sense, put an end to this nonsense? Instead of wasting money on antiretroviral drugs, will we ever address the need for food, clean water, and vitamins? Will officialdom ever concede that "HIV tests" don't detect HIV?
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Thursday June 26 2003
updated on Thursday October 14 2010URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/06/26/aids_in_africa.htm
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