Misty Media Sex Blog

October 21st 2005, 13:42 Jeff Sela

Zambia is organising small trials of three herbal remedies for HIV. The anti-retroviral drugs which have made HIV no longer a fatal disease for many in the West are too expensive for many African countries to afford. Some see the attempt to find cheaper alternatives as an act of desperation.

According to the BBC article:

Genevieve Clark, of the British charity Terence Higgins Trust, said: “I can understand why people are desperate to find anything that helps.”

“Anything that boosts the immune system helps… Anything you can do in terms of eating healthily and being healthy is to be welcomed.”

But she added: “Herbal remedies have not been proven to help… The only thing proven is anti-retroviral treatments.”

She also expressed concern that the test sample of 25 people was not large enough to be a “proper clinical trial”.

Quite right. I wish them well, but I doubt this is going to help. They need to tackle the patent issues and start producing cheaper generic versions of the ARV drugs.

Zambia has a serious HIV problem, with 1 in 6 adults having the disease. But it's by no means the worst off country in Africa. In Swaziland and Botswana more than a third of adults have HIV.