Compiled and edited by Martin Flynn
The former US basketball star Magic Johnson says that he is now free of Aids symptoms, 11 years after he first tested positive for HIV in a blaze of international publicity. 43-year-old Johnson said he exercises regularly and takes all his medications. "My doctor said: 'Man, whatever you're doing, just keep it up, because you look great'."
page 5 of 7
contents
of issue 84
back
issues
the
gazette
recipes
small
ads
contacting
us
weblinks
SA activists take on pharmacos
The South African Aids Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and COSATU, trade
union confederation, have joined forces in an attempt to force drug companies
to drop the price of their Aids drugs. TAC say the drugs (now reduced
to about £117 a month per patient ) are still too expensive. They
called on the companies to waive drug patent rights so that cheaper drugs
could be produced.
Uganda Aids miracle 'exaggerated'
The HIV and Aids "miracle" in Uganda was exaggerated in order
to retain international donor funding, according to an article in The
Lancet journal. Dr Justin Parkhurst, of the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine, says that though Uganda reduced its HIV rate, it is
unlikely that the rate fell from 30 per cent to 10 per cent over the last
decade, as the government claims.
TRIPS drug access deal 'closer'
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is in negotiations with the US government to get greater access to drugs for Aids and other diseases in developing countries. The existing
