Perhaps they will get tired, but a cure is a cure no matter how. > > From: [log in to unmask] > Date: 2007/02/21 on PM 09:03:07 CET > To: [log in to unmask] > 獻ne: Fwd: Gambian leader's herbal AIDS 'cure' raises alarms > > From: Anthony Loum <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Gambian leader's herbal AIDS 'cure' raises alarms > > The story is contained in the following link: > _http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/304497_gambiaaids21.html_ > (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/304497_gambiaaids21.html) > Thanks > Anthony Webster Loum > > Wednesday, February 21, 2007 > Gambian leader's herbal AIDS 'cure' raises alarms > By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI > ASSOCIATED PRESS > BANJUL, Gambia -- From the pockets of his billowing white robe, Gambia's > president pulls out a plastic container, closes his eyes in prayer and rubs a > green herbal paste onto the rib cage of the patient -- a concoction he claims > is a cure for AIDS. He then tells the man to swallow a bitter yellow drink, > followed by two bananas. > "Whatever you do, there are bound to be skeptics, but I can tell you my > method is foolproof," President Yahya Jammeh told a reporter. "Mine is not an > argument, mine is a proof. It's a declaration. I can cure AIDS and I will." > In a continent suffering from the world's worst AIDS epidemic, Jammeh's > claims of a miracle cure are alarming public health workers already struggling > against faith-healers dispensing herbal remedies. > The biggest concern is that the Gambian leader requires patients to cease > their anti-retroviral drugs, which risks making them even more prone to > infection, said Dr. Antonio Filipe Jr., head of the World Health Organization in > Senegal. > Since January, when he announced his cure to a gathering of foreign > diplomats, Jammeh has thrown the bureaucratic machinery of this small West African > country behind the claim. The last six news releases on Gambia's official Web > site are dedicated to the president's treatment, available to Gambians free of > charge. Regular radio and TV addresses publicize it and the Health Ministry > has issued a declaration of support. > Although the HIV rate is relatively low in Gambia compared with other > African nations, the president's claim has left international health organizations > in a bind. Filipe was diplomatic, saying WHO respects the president's point > of view. But, he added: "As the World Health Organization, we would like to > state quite clearly the following -- No. 1: so far there is no cure for AIDS." > Jammeh, 41, says his treatment cannot be mixed with other drugs because "I > don't want any complications." > Jammeh has sent blood samples of the first nine patients to a lab in Senegal > for testing. A letter on the lab's stationery indicates of the nine, four > had undetectable viral loads, one had a moderate load and three had high loads, > a result posted on the government's Web site as proof of a cure. > However, the lab technician who performed the tests warned they are not > conclusive since the blood samples were only taken after the treatment. > Waiting for treatment at the presidential compound last week, Jammeh's > patients said they don't need lab results to tell them they feel better. > "It feels as if the president took the pain out of my body," said Ousman > Sowe, 54, who has been under Jammeh's care for nearly a month. > > <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> Check out free AOL at > http://free.aol.com/thenewaol/index.adp. Most comprehensive set of free > safety and security tools, millions of free high-quality videos from across the > web, free AOL Mail and much more. > > ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface > at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l > To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask] > ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? > 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中 To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] 中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中中