Guest fountainhall Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 Writing in the British Medical Journal The Lancet, Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has called for homosexuality to be decriminalized. Ostensibly to help tackle HIV, the Archbishop adds – "In the future, the laws that criminalise so many forms of human love and commitment will look the way apartheid laws do to us now - so obviously wrong. "Never let anyone make you feel inferior for being who you are. When you live the life you were meant to live, in freedom and dignity". An international team of medical researchers said - men who have sex with men (MSM) bore a "disproportionate burden" of HIV. The fact HIV was first identified in gay men has "indelibly marked the global response" and "stigmatised those living with the virus", they said . . . "The struggle for equity in HIV services is likely to be inseparably linked to the struggle for sexual minority rights—and hence to be both a human rights struggle, and in many countries, a civil rights one." This Board and others have often commented that the number of HIV MSM in Bangkok is very high – estimated at just under 25%. Perhaps we sometimes forget that even in western countries, the number with HIV is still high. A spokeswoman for the UK's Terrence Higgins Trust said: "In London, one in seven gay men has HIV." http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-18913497 Quote
Rogie Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 I never met Tutu but I've spoken with people who knew him when he was living in a part of London near where I used to lived. They have an enormous respect and affection for him. What Tutu is saying seems to me the most important part of this report in the Lancet. Other aspects are also important, but take the reference for the drug Truvada for example. In common with many previous 'breakthroughs', there is bad news along with the good. First the good news . . . The approval of this drug, which is a combination Tenofovir & emtricitabine pills – builds on the ‘treatment as prevention’ phenomenon as well as the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy. Some of the people who will benefit from this drug are HIV negative partners in relationships where one partner is HIV positive and the other is not. The HIV negative partner will be taking the drug to keep from developing HIV. In clinical trials, Truvada showed a reduction in transmission of up to 75%. The approval and efficacy of Truvada is really good news in the growing scientific journey of HIV treatments – and we need every bit of good news we can get to contribute to minimising new infections. . . . and now the not so good: However, the good news masks some challenges that no-one really wants to talk about at this time through fear of spoiling the party surrounding the drug’s approval. The biggest issue is who is going to pay for this expensive medication in this economic climate. From the figures that are being quoted in various news articles, a course of treatment is going to cost up to $13,000 annually. We already have far too many people living with HIV who need treatment right now and are unable to get it. Then there are also a whole list of side effects, starting with abnormal skin sensations and skin discoloration (small spots or freckles); back pain; cough; diarrhoea; indigestion; joint pain; loss of appetite; nausea; strange dreams; sweating; tiredness; trouble sleeping; vomiting; weakness; weight loss and more. Speaking as somebody who has been on some sort of HIV treatment for more than 20 years and experienced my share of side effects, this is no small challenge! Just the fear of just experiencing some minor side effects can put people off treatment. http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/20/truvada-a-good-news-day-for-hiv-sufferers/ Quote
