First it was Zuma. Now its Dr. Garlic.
Everyone, both in and out of South Africa, is calling for either her sacking as Health Minister, or arrest for AIDS-related deaths at a Durban prison, or both.
Various well-knowns such as Patricia de Lille of the Independent Democrat party, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) from the US, Stephen Lewis (UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa), and even the former president of the International AIDS Society are all demanding for her head.
Why?
Because this redneck has pushed a diet of traditional medicines and a mixture of – LOOK AT THIS – garlic, beetroot, lemon and African potatoes as a cure for AIDS rather than anti-retroviral drugs.
No, I am NOT kidding. This woman is a fucking redneck!
And the Treatment Action Campaign (South Africa’s most influential AIDS lobby) has called for her arrest because of “the wrongful death of a Durban prison inmate from HIV/Aids-related complications.”
The organization also vandalized South Africa’s booth at a recent world HIV conference held in Canada, which contained – you guessed it – “garlic, beetroot, lemon and African potatoes”.
If she is fired, or thrown out, this may be the first event of its kind in SA’s post-apartheid history. No issue like AIDS has sent as much of an unnerving jolt into South Africa’s politics since 1994, especially since the politics in the country have been seen during Mbeki’s tenure as degradent and decaying.
If Mbeki keeps her, or at least continues in his retarded beliefs about AIDS/HIV, it is obvious that the country’s image will drive out such important things as investment and political links.
Hopefully miktar, things will change.
This is just appauling. I’m a microbiologist and it really really disgusts me to see someone in such a position of power doing something like this that will lead to so much suffering and death, and for what? A personal theory? Misinformation is like a virus itself, the damning meme getting a life of its own, so then you have to fight the informational damage she’s caused with people.
If you’re a minister in charge of such things and you disagree with current treatments, then fund someone to study it and advocate the best current treatment until results show there might be something else that’s better (and that’s assuming that any of that stuff helps, which seems like a bit of a stretch). Anything else is reckless endangerment of the lives of others.
Then again, I could say almost the same of some US policies regarding what you can and can’t do as far as aid in this respect (i.e. condoms) which seems to be playing morals games with the lives of others.
Its not that certain herbs might posess antiviral properties. Indeed most of what we use to treat bacteria are derrived and modified products found in nature (from moulds for example). But you go forward with what you have proved to work, not what you think or what people say.