Wipout Essay Results

chrestomanci writes "The Register is reporting on the results of a counter-essay contest run by wipout.net (an international organisation that seeks to limit the reach of the WIPO and intellectual property rights in general) against the WIPO's own essay contest, both with the title "What does intellectual property mean to you in your daily life?". A telling slogan reads: Today, the WTO pulled the trigger on another 2.500 poor AIDS victims."

Comments

Re:Balderdash

[Ian Bicking]

Indeed -- AIDS is overblown in Africa, simply a disease of definition. This paper gives the WHO's definition:

The WHO's clinical-case definition for AIDS in Africa (adopted in 1985) is not based on an HIV test or T-cell counts but on the combined symptoms of chronic diarrhea, prolonged fever, 10 percent body weight loss in two months and a persistent cough, none of which are new or uncommon on the African continent.

Which is to say, AIDS in Africa is a total fraud. Mbeki was right when he criticized the "epidemic". To say that Africa is undergoing a very serious decay of health systems is entirely true -- the problem isn't a lack of AIDS drugs, but a lack of basic public health facilities -- clean water, mosquito and malaria control, hospital facilities, trained medical professionals, etc.

With the WHO's definition of AIDS it is scary if people were to actual receive the drug coctail based on that diagnosis (I don't know -- maybe they wouldn't). AZT kills people -- it is a very harmful drug, and if they didn't have something that looks like American AIDS before they start taking AZT, they will after.

I'm afraid this is one place where the activists have been a very negative influence. The attacks on Mbeki were intense and they totally ignored his reasons. IMHO, AIDS in non-risk populations hasn't, isn't, and won't be a serious health issue here or in Africa -- but people have formed their identity around the disease, and that makes it very hard for them to let go.