It is one thing to suffer and die from AIDS, the disease that is causes by the diminishing and eventually total elimination of the human body's defense system by the HI virus, but it is another to witness one's close family members ravished by this ungraceful horror disease and perish to nothingness.
Until HIV/AIDS enters your household, you can't really fully grasp its nature and form. For most Sub Saharan Africans, the impact and effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have left us virtually walking zombies ' simply pictures of devastated, psychologically traumatized and physically exhausted beings.
For not only does AIDS have the ability to kill the human body, but it enjoys the power to effectively dis-empower and cripple individuals, families, communities and nations as it disseminates an entire family of a man, his wife and child, leaving empty shells of what used to be their dwelling places behind to constantly remind their family and friends of its power, strength and control.
As one who lives to feel the perpetual strength and controlling power of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, I could not control the excitement that bust from within my soul and spirits when I read the 25 September 2009 ET Bureau/IST Agencies web news that researchers at the Sanofi Pasteur research centre in Paris, France and VaxGen of the United States of America who have been conducting clinical trials on possible HIV vaccines in Thailand for the last 6 years have finally hit positive results. I was so excited that I found myself thinking, 'ok, we lost so many loved ones, but perhaps we can now have the change of saving so many more' if indeed the combination of Sanofi-Pasteur's ALVAC canary pox vaccine and VaxGen's AIDSVAX can lower the HIV infection rate by 31.2 percent.
My heart immediately went out to the millions of our youths that include my numerous AIDS orphaned nephews and nieces, who are constantly mercilessly bombarded by TV commercialisation of human nudity and sexualisation to audible screams of, 'how soon will this magic wand reach us- Will this vaccine be here before these young people succumb to AIDS like their parents did; We have seen how ARVs has helped to prolong lives, keeping children parented, sustaining schooling and even leading to graduations.
What do we need to do to bring these ALVAC canary pox/VaxGen's AIDSVAX vaccine trial tests close to us and how soon can we do it', I hauled as joy reverted to anger.
After calming down, I found myself reflecting that that I was not surprised that this global breaking news happened in Thailand. In mid 1990s I had had the opportunity to frequently travel to Bangkok as Africa's first representative on ECPAT International's Executive Committee and witnessed the dynamic approaches of the Thai Government on HIV/AIDS.
Bangkok happens to be the global prostitution hub and ECPAT had chosen to target it with its anti child prostitution, trafficking and pornography global initiative. Working with various UN agencies led by UNICEF, SAVE the Children Alliance and many other child-based Development Agencies led by Queen Sylvia of Sweden, ECPAT had helped draw the famous August 1995 Stockholm Agenda and launched a global initiative to sensitize families, communities, societies and governments on the existence, extent, impact and effect of sexual exploitation on children and to work to eliminate these ugly vices.
To familiarise ourselves with what we were up against, the ECPAT global team comprising mainly of Church leaders and development workers had hit the streets of Bangkok, surveying night clubs, gogo boy halls, restaurants and hotels. One critical observation I, as an African coming from the World's most affected region had made in those early days was that while our people and governments were still buried in stigma, shame and denial, as far back as 1996, the Thai Government had determined to break the thick silence surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic and taken anti HIV/AIDS programmes into public places. Condoms in all sorts of forms and shapes from flowers to musical instruments and candies visibly featured everywhere from coffee shops, eating houses, offices, business places and hotels.
Indeed the combined efforts of the Thai Government represented by their Ministry of Public Health working with 16,000 members of the general public who volunteered to act as trial pigs, the US Army and the two research centres serves to demonstrate the power of team work.
The devastation that resonated across the global village when VaxGen scientists announced that their AIDSVAX vaccine trials had failed and that it might take as long as 10 years before we could hope for an effective vaccine is still fresh in our minds. It is therefore so refreshing to realise that rather than bury their heads in the sand over their unsuccessful clinical trials, VaxGen researchers chose to combine efforts with their French colleagues at the Paris Sanofi Pasteur research center. We can only thank and congratulate them for this ray of hope and look forward to it being a reality in our desperate region.
n merabkambamukiremire@yahoo.co.uk
