AIDS treatment in Africa

Re “Africa’s AIDS puzzle,” Opinion, March 5

Like any puzzle, Africa’s AIDS epidemic has pieces that can fit together in more ways than one.

Jonny Steinberg’s observation that the specter of HIV affects South African men’s willingness to get tested is borne out by AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s experience.

In our free AIDS treatment clinics in South Africa, 67% of our more than 5,000 patients are women.

However, two weeks ago, we spearheaded a day of free HIV testing in Uganda that drew 1,100 individuals. At our clinic in Kampala, nearly twice as many men as women were tested.

It’s clear that, with active mobilization, more men can be successfully targeted for testing and treatment.

We do know this: An HIV-positive individual without access to treatment will eventually progress to an AIDS-defining illness and die, regardless of whether the obstacles to treatment are shame, bureaucratic indifference or the price of lifesaving medicines -- something Africans and Westerners alike must work together to overcome.

Ged Kenslea

Communications Director

AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Los Angeles