A CONTINENT AT RISK.

• Author: McNeil, Donald G., Jr.
• Position: Africa struggles with the AIDS virus

Millions of Africans are dying of AIDS because they can't afford the drugs that could save their lives. Now there may be some hope.

FOCUS: In Africa, Millions of AIDS Patients Can't Afford Drugs That Prolong Life

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand the dimensions of the AIDS crisis in Africa, where 17 million have died and the death toll keeps rising, and how reduced drug prices and access to cheaper generic drugs may offer a glimmer of hope.

Discussion Questions:

* Are drug companies guilty of gouging AIDS victims, in the U.S. or Africa?

* Is breaking a patent a case of "stealing ideas"? Is it ever justified?

* Should the U.S. government prohibit immigration from Africa, to insure that no one with AIDS enters this country?

* Do wealthy countries, such as the U.S. and those in Western Europe, have an obligation to help fund AIDS drug programs in Africa?

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

Before Reading: Tell students there is no cure for AIDS. Drugs can prolong life by helping the immune system fight infection, but there is no way to rid the body of HIV or remove AIDS once it has developed.

Critical Thinking: Discuss the shame that prevented many African countries from dealing effectively with AIDS. (South African President Thabo Mbeki long denied that HIV caused AIDS.) Is shame about sex unique to Africa? Africa's experience might serve as a lesson to U.S. teens, who often are ashamed to seek treatment when they roar they have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease--or who may even be pregnant. Use Africa's example to illustrate how denial can lead to disaster.

Note that even with a steep cut in drug prices, the six countries that have struck a deal with drug companies can treat only 1 or 2 percent of their infected citizens. What criteria should officials employ when deciding whom to treat? Should they focus on children? The educated? Skilled Workers? (The likelihood is that treatment will go to city dwellers and those who live near hospitals.) Debates: (1) Note the view of world health officials that Africa can't be saved unless wealthy countries help pay the bill for treating AIDS victims. Should the U.S. undertake a massive' effort to deliver AIDS treatment to affected Africans--though they live far beyond our borders? (2) Of 13.2 million children worldwide who have been orphaned by AIDS, 12.1 million live in sub-Saharan Africa. Should the U.S. pay to care for such orphans?

Josephina, 35, works seven days a week as a maid in...