Mr. Mubanda's thoughts are pithy and
well-spoken; he has a health
perspective. My view is
from a development perspective.
Yes, our people have to be healthy if we are to progress. Even
in the best of all worlds, we will have to ration the drugs.
It is
important that we in the government determine who should get the treatment.
That should not be left to chance, or to local doctors, or to NGOs.
What is imperative is that essential core personnel be
treated: economically important people with education, or
who are employed in vital sectors of the economy or government.
That includes police and army. If
we don't safeguard these, the country will collapse.
That means we have to resist efforts
to treat orphans, pregnant mothers and their babies, the poor and uneducated.
We're sorry, but. Local
doctors and NGOs from Red Cross
to Missionaries can carrying out our policy, but it is ours to make.
We don't need helicopters and Range Rovers--the essential core people are in
cities.
We should demand that every foreign
corporation set up clinics and programs for their employees.
That would be especially important for mining. They are rich corporations;
it is time for them to take care of those who do the real work.
We should treat
prostitutes. In urban areas, there are lots of
young men but no wives and children. We can't bring the families in-- we
don't have the housing, the water, the sewers. Therefore, we must
safeguard the sex workers. Prostitutes
deserve to have their lives and health
taken seriously. That will prevent the spread of AIDS. So that is our prevention program, not financing troups of singers
and dancers in the countryside.
Europeans will support treatment
of sex workers. We recognize the US equates
sexual activities outside of marriage as sinful and immoral.
Back in the 1930's US hospitals refused to treat gonorhhea. Surely you listened to the conservatives there
who said people with AIDS were being punished for their sinful
behavior. So
the US will not help.
Except for treatment of these
carefully delimited groups, we ought to design proposals for the World Bank
that will provide a lasting basis for growth and economic development.
Roads, communications, schools. So
much funding has been wasted by previous rulers.
Individuals became rich while
our country became poor.
Why can't we develop plans that use
NGOs and foundations to ensure that projects are carried out?
If we develop plans for roads, clinics, electricity, etc., and
specify that NGOs are to carry them out, we might get desirable results.
We can arrange for training of our people--NGOs don't have the manpower
to staff the projects. We'll get
the benefit of their counsel, expertise, and administration.
We should signal our desire to work closely with NGOs.
At the same time we must have a firm
public policy that specifies who gets the AIDS drugs.
No quibbling. After we get
development, we can expand treatment to other groups, but not at the expense
of our essential core personnel.
