Not Preventing AIDS in Africa

On Monday, it was revealed that a trials to protect African women against AIDS was a flop. This article says that these results were not because of the products, but because the women were not using the products. The women were either given pills or vaginal gel, both were to be used daily. When the girls came to the doctors for their monthly visits, they would claim to be using the product as instructed, but blood tests revealed that 70 percent of them were lying. The same test was given to homosexual men in the United States, and it was reported that the majority of this group were not taking the products daily either. The article exclaims that young people think they aren't vulnerable with "that-will-never-happen-to-me" mentality. Experts urge researchers to conduct another study. The products are now being tested on animals.

This article would be more helpful if it included what the end results were for the majority of the participant. Saying that the products failed leads readers to think that each participant contracted AIDS. And if this were the case, the article should include that. It would also be helpful to know why 70 percent of these women wouldn't take their prescribed product. These people could be resisting the product simply because they are uneducated and don't believe that they are at risk of getting AIDS. This would be the social issue of lack of public health education all around the word. If a person knows what they are up against, they would fight it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/health/african-trial-of-hiv-drugs-fails.html?ref=africa&_r=0

Emma Starnes, 3/6/2013 at 5:53 pm