AIDS Cure or Sick Joke by African President?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic' started by Mr. J, Mar 16, 2007.

  1. Mr. J

    Mr. J Triple Up

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    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">At the only hospital in the capital of this tiny West African nation, a 3-year-old AIDS patient named Suleiman receives his daily dose of medication -- a murky brown concoction of seven herbs and spices served out of a bottle that once contained pancake syrup.

    The boy is told a spoonful a day will make him better. His mother, Fatuma, takes the same concoction, as do several dozen other AIDS and HIV patients here. Adults take two spoonfuls.

    "It's amazing," Fatuma says. "Two weeks ago, I was very ill, weak and couldn't eat without vomiting."

    This has become the treatment for HIV/AIDS patients here since early January, when Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced he had discovered a cure for the disease that has wreaked havoc across Africa. He made that announcement in front of a group of foreign diplomats, telling them the treatment was revealed to him by his ancestors in a dream.

    His concoction has stirred controversy and anger among health officials who say the president's claims will bring false hope to the nation's more than 20,000 HIV/AIDS patients. They are also afraid that it could cause patients to stop taking the anti-retroviral drugs that have been proven to prolong life and improve quality of living.

    One critic was Fadzai Gwaradzimba, the U.N. envoy to Gambia. She was abruptly kicked out of the country after saying on February 9 that patients should continue their normal treatment and that Jammeh's concoction be "assessed by an international team of experts."

    "The U.N. system encourages all patients currently receiving anti-retroviral treatment to continue to comply with their recommended treatment regimens while the efficacy of the new treatment is being assessed," she said. (Read full statement)

    The U.N. Development Program stands by the envoy's remarks. The World Health Organization has also been critical of Jammeh's treatment.</div>
    http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/03/15...rica/index.html
     
  2. Really Lost One

    Really Lost One Suspended

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    I doubt it's a cure for AIDS, but it does seem like it has worked....
     
  3. Bahir

    Bahir User power factor: ∞

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    Placebo effect. It will work until people stop believing in it.
     
  4. ChicagoSportsFan

    ChicagoSportsFan JBB JustBBall Rookie Team

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    if it is a true cure for aids the funny thing is very few american aids patients
    will be able to travel to get the cure. since the cure is said to be herbal it would bel illegal here. by law only medicine can cure diease. not any herb or natural material.
    lol! I love Americas money hungry pill companies control of the FDA doesnt everyone else?
     
  5. Sasha

    Sasha ...since the beginning.

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    <div class="quote_poster">Bahir Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Placebo effect. It will work until people stop believing in it.</div>
    Or until, something reasonable comes along.
     
  6. Chutney

    Chutney MON-STRAWRRR!!1!

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    I don't think its a sick joke. The dude just sounds delusional.
     

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