PHA-Exch> Peter Piot to Leave UN AIDS Agency After 13 Years (2)

[Claudio Schuftan]

   From:    g_upham at club-internet.fr


13 years ago, I remember chating with Peter at the reception of the
Governing board - where I sat as Observer from civil society- when he got
the job: He said to me "*My wife says I will end up like the Christians,
eaten up by the lions- but I told her I think I will make it."*

Did Peter bow to the lions? Behind the veneer of a friend of the poor, Peter
seems to have toed the line put forth by big business and macroeconomic
dictates : Safe transfusion policy was said to be not cost effective in
Africa? So be it, UNAIDS would not say a word about the problem. All
researchers know from the late 80s outbreak in Mexico that blood donors
could get HIV from dirty practices (Patricia Volkow), what action by UNAIDS?
Silence. Further, the massive contamination of villagers in China ten years
later, quickly shoved under the carpet as '*bizzare blood collection
behavior*"- (sic)
Blood exposure to HIV largely explaining the different rates of HIV spread
in rich and poor communities ? Silence.
The Lancet analysis of sexual behavior 56 countries showing less (not more)
sexual activity in young adults of rich countries then in Africa and no
correlation at all (or an inverse correlation) between sexual behavior and
HIV (published last year)? Silence at UNAIDS.

Neglect of a major disease of poverty, Tuberculosis, was in part responsible
for enhancing HIV spread (Anthony Fauci, NIAID 1996)- Silence then  and
now..

When (former WHO DG) Dr Bruntland sponsored a civil society initiative in
Winthertur "Massive efforts against Diseases of Poverty"- Peter and his
envoy disgraced UNAIDS by a speech saying *HIV IS NOT A DISEASE OF POVERTY,
HIV HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH POVERTY!*

Transmission of HIV through dirty injections was an important problem that
began to be identified in India- this until the 2004 INCLEN study in India
led to important actions for safe injections (still not done in most parts
of Africa)- and Professor Arora said that the high rates of HIV remaining in
Tamil Nadu were most lilely the result of poor people's preference for
injections and the lack of safety overall (Beijing, Nov 2007) -not so for
Peter's UNAIDS which expressed surprise at the lower than expected HIV in
India (without saying a word about the outcome of the INCLEN study) and, in
view of the higher HIV rates among women than men said that "Indian women
were more promiscuous than previously thought".
The first book for lay person telling them how to protect themselves from
HIV through blood exposure, through injections, tatooting etc in India,
published by UNAIDS? No, of course not, a publication by two AIDS activists
M. Correa and Dr Deodata Gore (with D Gisselquist, sales of the book going
to the PWA treatment center of Dr Gore)

The story of UNAIDS will go down in history as the largest most singular
example of how ultra liberal economic approaches (let the individual
consumer bare the full responsability for disease control) spell a human
tragedy of epic proportions.
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