Every Wednesday, Boston University’s School of Public Health hosts the Public Health Forum, an opportunity for students, staff and members of the community to hear the latest research straight from scientists. Today’s forum brought Dr. Francois Venter, a South African clinician and leader in HIV/AIDS treatment. His talk titled, “South Africa & HIV: Crisis – What Crisis?” focused on the failures of prevention and politics to contain the epidemic in his country. Venter, (No relation to artificial-genome synthesizer Craig), described the current state of HIV treatment as depressing. Scientists are feeling defeated as rates of new infections increase worldwide and trials for vaccines, microbicides and diaphragms fail.
In South Africa, which holds 5 million people living with HIV in its borders, the most of any country, the numbers are rising despite increased condom use and widespread education campaigns.New data reveals up to 91% of new infections in Uganda and South Africa are not the prostitutes or drug users normally associated with HIV, but married women and widows. Dr. Venter doesn’t know why this is the case, but it is clear we don’t understand the transmission dynamics or sexual behaviors. He describes South African culture as very conservative compared to bare-it-all America. The majority of the country’s population is Catholic so no one claims to be homosexual and married couples say they are faithful. This image does not support the data, however, and research to find out more on how HIV is being transmitted in South Africa may be prevented by social acceptability.
Once people are infected, doctors in South Africa are facing what Dr. Venter calls “The Treatment Gap,” thanks in part to their health minister. She needed to be in the hospital and unable to work before they could pass a 5 year plan that would improve the number of drugs reaching pregnant women, nurses and adult patients.
What’s even more shocking is the bureaucracy is being difficult when it is projected 1 in 2 South Africans will be HIV+ within a decade, the projected number of AIDS orphans will reach 2 million and 1 million of its citizens have AIDS with only 20% receiving treatment. Despite South Africa’s status as a middle income country, life expectancy there will soon drop to 50.
“We will never treat our way out of this epidemic – but we need to treat,” said Dr. Venter. What he suggests for now is providing access to drugs and testing to people in South Africa, which unfortunately, requires a restructuring of the health system. Although the media tries to hype the good news about HIV/AIDS, the reality is, things could be better.