Former US President, Bill Clinton, whose foundation has been working to bring quality medical care and cheaper drugs to aids-sufferers in poor countries, said Tuesday that this year Lesotho would become the first country to do universal aids-testing.
He regarded it as a test case to see whether rapid tests, costing 49-65 cents each, and drugs can reduce the 27 percent infection rate in the small southern African country. A budget of 100 million US dollar (620 mio. DKR) could pay for 200 million tests.
– The whole idea is to treat this as a public health problem, not as some source of shame or disgrace and to keep as many people alive as possible, he explained.
The first aim is to stop infections and the second to save the lives of those who are infected. – I would be for whatever accomplishes those objectives, Clinton said.
He added the question was not whether a country was rich or poor but its infection rate. When the level of infection reached a critical point it imperiled the public health structure and social stability, making it more difficult to bring rates down.
Since leaving the White House Clinton has devoted much of his attention to getting anti-AIDS drugs to poor countries at the cheapest possible prices through the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI).
Kilde: The Push Journal
