TAKE A SHOWER WITH JACOB ZUMA OR EAT GARLIC CLOVES WITH HEALTH MINISTER MANTO!
Not much of a choice, huh? Former vice president of South Africa recommends taking a shower following sex with a partner that tested positive for HIV. Imagine this advice from a fellow who once headed up the country's Moral Regeneration Committee!
"Jump'n Jake" wants to be president of this fine country. He's now making headlines over accusations concerning corruption ("taking money under the table"), vis-a-vis a French arms company. The question arises: would you buy a used car from this guy?
Getting back to your choices. Now it's time to try to understand South Africa's health minister. Manto Tshabala-Msimang recently made international headlines with her antics at the 16th International Aids Conference, held in Toronto, Canada. Bad enough she makes news here...now she's garnering headlines in the international press.
She's known as "Mrs. Beetroot" in South Africa. In Toronto, the health minister exhibited garlic, lemon, African potato and beetroot--all as examples of her answer to the HIV-Aids crisis in South Africa. By doing so, the so-called health minister has also become known as a clown in international health circles.
Manto reasons that by ingesting combinations of the aforementioned natural products, one can combat HIV-Aids. It's all part of a nutrition diet she recommends for folks that are suffering from the initial impact of HIV. Just imagine sucking on garlic cloves, thinking that you've finally found the "cure" for your bad sexual habits. A simple walk through the local grocery store can be part of your medical history!
This country has issued strong criticism against American President George Bush's Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), particularly regarding its policy about condom use advocacy. Few here can deny the impact that the fund has had in the serious fight against HIV-Aids.
I've learned that through PEPFAR, around $15-billion will be allocated to 15 countries, including South Africa. The American fund will be distributed over a 5-year period to assist highly affected countries in overcoming their HIV-Aids epidemics. South Africa's case is the most serious around these parts, perhaps in the world.
My tax dollars are helping fund this crusade against one of the most serious pandemics ever to confront humankind. Mrs. Beetroot counters this generosity by the American people with her "home-grown" recipe for disaster. And the guy who would be president tells his people taking a shower will help minimize the chances of contracting HIV-Aids! And these are the "leaders", present and future, for South Africa!
I'm told South Africa is losing over 3,000 citizens weekly to the scourge of HIV-Aids. That's a lot of funerals. If there are career classes in the high schools I would be recommending the mortuary science field to the youngsters--the business is going to continue to boom.
The pandemic affects every facet of South African life. Schools are "breeding grounds" for sexually-transmitted diseases. As far as I can ascertain, there is no concerted program of study for young people in the schools relative to this disease. There seems to be casual mention of it by administrators and teachers.
Simply put, this country is in grave danger of eventually losing generations of potential productive citizens--all because its leaders seemingly do not want to face up to their responsibilities regarding HIV-Aids. There is much consternation here over President Mbeki's lack of motivation to speak out about the crisis. His inaction speaks volumes to the populace. Meanwhile, the thousands of victims are being added to a long, long list of people who should not have died from this terrible disease.
The facts speak for themselves. As great as this country is, there is an inability of its leaders to come to grips with this crisis. More than anything, there is a crisis in leadership here regarding what to do with the HIV-Aids pandemic. Oh, the USA has a leadership crisis too (regarding the war in Iraq, etc.), but the crisis here is much more pressing. The people here need answers--NOW!
UPDATED REMARKS:
The South African government finally acted on shutting the mouth of their esteemed, but mis-directed health minister. The Star (Johannesburg) newspaper, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006, featured a front-page news article on "Mrs. Beetroot." The artist depicted her with huge bandages slapped tightly across her (big) mouth...a fitting rendering of her being shut-down by her fellow ministers. It was very satisfying for me in that I had just submitted a very critical article on the health minister and her evident stupid responses to the HIV-Aids pandemic here. Unfortunately, the government ministers decided to keep her as health minister, simply ordering her to not speak out on the HIV-Aids issue. Too bad they didn't send her packing! There is no doubt politics played a part in the decision-making process (she is a favorite of President Mbeki). Manto also was a hit with visiting Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Apparantely, she graduated from a medical institution in Leningrad some time ago and she also gave one of her children a Russian name. All very impressive, but she still should have been exiled to a gulag in Siberia...
"Jump'n Jake" wants to be president of this fine country. He's now making headlines over accusations concerning corruption ("taking money under the table"), vis-a-vis a French arms company. The question arises: would you buy a used car from this guy?
Getting back to your choices. Now it's time to try to understand South Africa's health minister. Manto Tshabala-Msimang recently made international headlines with her antics at the 16th International Aids Conference, held in Toronto, Canada. Bad enough she makes news here...now she's garnering headlines in the international press.
She's known as "Mrs. Beetroot" in South Africa. In Toronto, the health minister exhibited garlic, lemon, African potato and beetroot--all as examples of her answer to the HIV-Aids crisis in South Africa. By doing so, the so-called health minister has also become known as a clown in international health circles.
Manto reasons that by ingesting combinations of the aforementioned natural products, one can combat HIV-Aids. It's all part of a nutrition diet she recommends for folks that are suffering from the initial impact of HIV. Just imagine sucking on garlic cloves, thinking that you've finally found the "cure" for your bad sexual habits. A simple walk through the local grocery store can be part of your medical history!
This country has issued strong criticism against American President George Bush's Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), particularly regarding its policy about condom use advocacy. Few here can deny the impact that the fund has had in the serious fight against HIV-Aids.
I've learned that through PEPFAR, around $15-billion will be allocated to 15 countries, including South Africa. The American fund will be distributed over a 5-year period to assist highly affected countries in overcoming their HIV-Aids epidemics. South Africa's case is the most serious around these parts, perhaps in the world.
My tax dollars are helping fund this crusade against one of the most serious pandemics ever to confront humankind. Mrs. Beetroot counters this generosity by the American people with her "home-grown" recipe for disaster. And the guy who would be president tells his people taking a shower will help minimize the chances of contracting HIV-Aids! And these are the "leaders", present and future, for South Africa!
I'm told South Africa is losing over 3,000 citizens weekly to the scourge of HIV-Aids. That's a lot of funerals. If there are career classes in the high schools I would be recommending the mortuary science field to the youngsters--the business is going to continue to boom.
The pandemic affects every facet of South African life. Schools are "breeding grounds" for sexually-transmitted diseases. As far as I can ascertain, there is no concerted program of study for young people in the schools relative to this disease. There seems to be casual mention of it by administrators and teachers.
Simply put, this country is in grave danger of eventually losing generations of potential productive citizens--all because its leaders seemingly do not want to face up to their responsibilities regarding HIV-Aids. There is much consternation here over President Mbeki's lack of motivation to speak out about the crisis. His inaction speaks volumes to the populace. Meanwhile, the thousands of victims are being added to a long, long list of people who should not have died from this terrible disease.
The facts speak for themselves. As great as this country is, there is an inability of its leaders to come to grips with this crisis. More than anything, there is a crisis in leadership here regarding what to do with the HIV-Aids pandemic. Oh, the USA has a leadership crisis too (regarding the war in Iraq, etc.), but the crisis here is much more pressing. The people here need answers--NOW!
UPDATED REMARKS:
The South African government finally acted on shutting the mouth of their esteemed, but mis-directed health minister. The Star (Johannesburg) newspaper, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006, featured a front-page news article on "Mrs. Beetroot." The artist depicted her with huge bandages slapped tightly across her (big) mouth...a fitting rendering of her being shut-down by her fellow ministers. It was very satisfying for me in that I had just submitted a very critical article on the health minister and her evident stupid responses to the HIV-Aids pandemic here. Unfortunately, the government ministers decided to keep her as health minister, simply ordering her to not speak out on the HIV-Aids issue. Too bad they didn't send her packing! There is no doubt politics played a part in the decision-making process (she is a favorite of President Mbeki). Manto also was a hit with visiting Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Apparantely, she graduated from a medical institution in Leningrad some time ago and she also gave one of her children a Russian name. All very impressive, but she still should have been exiled to a gulag in Siberia...
posted by JOBURG JOURNAL at 2:43 AM
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