SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP 12 AIDS DISSIDENTS


Almost 1000 South Africans a day continue to die from Aids, and one of the principal reasons for this is the ongoing and bizarrely powerful influence of Aids dissidents on government policy. South Africa has become a safe haven for Aids denialists, and the Aids denialist capital of the world.

Were it not for the influence of dissidents, South Africa would long ago have been able to take the steps that countries like Brazil and Thailand have taken to stop new Aids infections; provide appropriate education; and offer meaningful treatment to those already infected.

It is time for South Africans to unite to put an end to the denialists' sway over the national debate.

The DA has identified the top twelve Aids dissidents operating in South Africa. We hope that by identifying these individuals and requesting civil society and public institutions to take specific action against them, we can at last proceed with a clear plan and decisive action to combat Aids.

These dissidents fall into three main categories. First, there are those who deny the existence of the human immuno-deficiency virus itself. President Thabo Mbeki, Anthony Brink and Anita Allen, for example, fit into this category. Secondly, there are those who do not directly express an opinion on the virus, but who argue that scientifically proven treatments are either ineffective or poisonous. Matthias Rath fits into this category. Thirdly, there are those political 'enforcers' who back up and support the President, the Health Minister and dissident views in the country's media - Essop Pahad falls into this category.

President Thabo Mbeki first fell under the influence of American dissidents in 1999. As a result of this influence, the adoption of an antiretroviral roll-out was delayed by many years; highly misleading messages about the causes and treatment of Aids were produced by the Cabinet; and Aids workers found themselves fighting a tide of disbelief, confusion and outright antagonism in their efforts to provide care and treatment to people infected with Aids.

While the heat of the debate has died down over the past year, and on a superficial examination of South Africa one might believe that the arguments of Aids dissidents no longer hold sway, a closer examination shows that this is simply not the case.

This morning it was reported in the press that as recently as last month, leading Aids dissidents - including Sam Mhlongo - were invited to present their views to the Minister of Health and other powerful members of the National Health Council, at which they presented the case that antiretrovirals are poisonous.

The government appears spell-bound by the lure of Matthias Rath, who claims that his vitamin C-based concoctions are all that is necessary to cure Aids. Despite his blatant breaking of the law, the government continues to give him space, and the Minister of Health continues to express sympathy for his claims. A number of patients are alleged to have died as a result of his treatment, but an investigation by the Medicines Control Council was initiated only with extreme reluctance and only after enormous public pressure. The investigation appears to be going nowhere.

A national antiretroviral programme is in place, but only after the government was forced into implementing it by legal action. It is not being implemented with anything like the conviction and dedication that is necessary to deal with a full-blown epidemic. Many provinces have fallen significantly behind their targets, but there appears to be no pressure on them to speed up implementation.

In April of this year an article in The Lancet stated that "Without South Africa on board, with its leadership position within Africa", placing three million people around the world on antiretrovirals by 2005 (one of the millennium goals) " is but a pipe dream".

There is, furthermore, still no clear Aids prevention message emanating from the government. The President, who should be at the head of a national prevention campaign, has withdrawn into silence, and his national Minister of Health continues to suggest that garlic, olive oil and lemon juice are effective Aids treatments and that vitamins work as well as antiretrovirals in fighting off the virus.

The DA's objective in compiling this list is to make it clear why these individuals are so dangerous, and raise public awareness about who they are and what they stand for. These individuals hide behind the excuse of promoting scientific debate in order to promote views that are false and dangerous. South Africa cannot let this continue any longer.

The DA calls on the media, the public, and professional organizations to, for example, wherever possible exclude these individuals from positions of authority; deny their dissident views publicity; and take vigorous steps to pursue official action in respect of any infringements of the law.

The top twelve are as follows:

1. Anthony Brink (convener and national chairman of the Treatment Information Group and spokesman for the Dr Rath Health Foundation)
2. Anita Allen (Secretary of the Forum for Debating Aids in South Africa)
3. Thabo Mbeki (President of the Republic of South Africa)
4. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (South African Minister of Health)
5. Matthias Rath (Director of the Dr Rath Health foundation)
6. Dr David Rasnick (Senior researcher: Dr Rath Health Foundation)
7. Roberto Giraldo (Technologist in the Laboratories of Clinical Immunology and Molecular Diagnosis; New York City)
8. Dr Sam Mhlongo (Head: Department of Family Medicine, University of Limpopo Medunsa Campus)
9. Essop Pahad (Minister in the Presidency)
10. Sibongile Manana (ANC MP and former MEC for Health in Mpumalanga)
11. Christine Qunta (Lawyer and legal representative of the Dr Rath Health Foundation)
12. Ronald Suresh Roberts (Presidential speechwriter and biographer)

Download supporting documents (Top 12 AIDS Dissidents Combined.doc)