PROBLEMS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERBAL REMEDY FOR HIV/AIDS: THE BLACK’S BURDEN
What is wrong with the Black race? Are we too not created in God's image? From natural disasters, drought, famine, civil wars, man-made outright wickedness, disease (avoidable and unavoidable), corrupt sit-tight political and even religious leaders, religious bigotry, discrimination, ethnocentrism to self inflicted poverty and ungodliness, Africa and those in the diaspora are faced with problems of unimaginable proportion. It seems to me that HIV-AIDS pandemic came to put an end to Black man's existence. Do not get me wrong here. All human beings Blacks, inclusive, are created by God and in God's image. God's love is also evenly distributed. Each race or ethnic nationalities face peculiar problems. While in the Western hemisphere, people suffer from typhoons, cyclone, earthquakes, and very harsh weather, Africans do not experience most of destructive natural disasters. In fact, most of the disasters faced by Black Africans are avoidable and could be minimized or managed with proper planning.
However, the HIV-AIDS pandemic is a different and difficult one to crack. The two most populated Black African countries - Nigeria and South Africa are suffering terribly from HIV-AIDS. The latest figures coming out are devastating. The WHO figures to me do not represent the actual number of people suffering in most African countries. I think that there are more because African governments and people are either not willing to present the figures or are refusing to admit that they cannot know the actual figures of people infected with HIV-AIDS. From a layman's point of view, I strongly believe that the problem HIV-AIDS poses is greater than are being made to understand or realize.
Those of us non-scientists involved in the ministry to people living with HIV-AIDS face problems from five angles:
1. Government: The respective African governments first of all deny the reality. Later, they started owning up, but were only paying lip service as what is often allocated to fight the disease is paltry. The money from international donors are often misused, embezzled or distributed to NGOs owned by the public officers in charge of HIV-AIDS Departments in most countries. As long as they are profiting from the foreign aid coming, they will never allow local remedies that may be safer, available and effective. Local initiatives are killed and declared unsafe and illegal in most African countries. I am also aware of the presence of quacks who are trying to cash in on people’s misfortune. There are also quacks among the numerous NGOs claiming grant money. Who owns these NGOs? How are funds distributed to these NGOs. What are the NGOs actually doing? I am only asking questions..., because I see that many of the NGOs collecting grants are just fronts, collecting money for doing nothing.
2. Scientists: African and foreign scientists are not open to any other form of treatment and that is purely political and not scientific. Science is always open to investigation, but when it comes to HIV/AIDS, they think they have exclusive right and power to provide a remedy. Even African scientists are jealous of their colleagues who may be advancing in research. We found this out to be true in Dr. Jeremiah Alabaka’s case in Nigeria. It is very disgusting to hear of how most African medical scientists put down traditional medicine, when in fact many of them patronize native doctors secretly all over Africa, especially when they are faced with life threatening issues and diseases.
3. Western economic super structure: Because so much money is being spent on research, no local initiative is allowed to challenge or compete with the pharmaceutical industries of the developed nations. The worst scenario is the uncooperative attitude of western Christian non-profit organizations that are helping the victims in Africa. In seems that they are working as salesmen for the western companies. They raise money from the churches in the west for HIV/AIDS ministry in Africa, but most of the funds are spent in the West on overhead and bulk purchases from the West. They refuse to cooperate with non-western agencies, and blatantly refuse the idea of alternative medicine. They believe that only western (White) scientists can discover the remedy or cure. They deny the power of prayer in most cases while they are often used to biblically put down all local initiatives as being fetish and sorcery.
4. Devil: We are told that, "Sub-Saharan Africa has been disproportionately affected by the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, accounting for 74 percent of the current 33.4 million people living with HIV and 85 percent of all AIDS related deaths". Also, “to date, over 230,000 African Americans have died of AIDS - nearly 40% of total deaths - and of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States of America today, around half are black. And yet, as a racial group, African Americans represent just 13% of the US population. The estimated lifetime risk of becoming infected with HIV is 1 in 16 for black males, and 1 in 30 for black females, a far higher risk than for white males (1 in 104) and white females (1 in 588). In Washington D.C, which has the nation’s highest district HIV prevalence (3%), three-quarters of those infected with HIV are African American. According to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, African Americans "comprise the greatest proportion of HIV/AIDS cases across many transmission categories, including among women, heterosexual men, injection drug users, and infants." So why are black Americans so disproportionately affected by AIDS in America and how do black Americans themselves view the epidemic? And what is being done to limit the number of new cases of AIDS being identified in clinics across the country?” (www.avert.org). Despite this very sad situation, even in the U.S. most blacks find it difficult to afford treatment as they are not insured. Unlike Africa, anti-retroviral are not distributed freely. Like Africans, adultery and fornication is the order of the day, while the men continue to impregnate women, and are refusing or cannot even provide for the family or the mother and child. These acts of immorality and irresponsibility are are both physical and spiritual. The Devil made me do it syndrome or excuse is not a sufficient reason as we are to take responsibility for our actions. However, I believe it is largely demonic, as it is caused by the Devil who is the arch enemy of God and righteousness.
5. HIV-AIDS Patients: Working with the people living with HIV and AIDS is a complex case. They are unpredictable, and evasive. They are not consistent with treatment, especially when they are getting relief from herbal remedy. They only come back for treatment when they are down. They do not want to be known even by those helping them. They do not want to be told to refrain from sexual intercourse so as not to infect others. Most of them do not tell their spouses of their status and so continue unsafe sex with those that are not infected.
CONCLUSION: Greediness on the part of African leaders and Western multi-nationals are impeding the research and development of safe and effective herbal/ natural products. They have almost made it a crime to use herbal products.
My approach, however, is to establish a mission-based health clinic with emphasis on herbal medicine and faith healing. It is going to be a non-profit platform so that evangelism/preaching of the gospel will take place at the same time. The present situation in Africa is beyond science and synthetic medicine. God must be involved as well as commitment and holiness. And the bottom line is accepting the offer of free life through Christ - which is the only basis for all divine healing.
However, the HIV-AIDS pandemic is a different and difficult one to crack. The two most populated Black African countries - Nigeria and South Africa are suffering terribly from HIV-AIDS. The latest figures coming out are devastating. The WHO figures to me do not represent the actual number of people suffering in most African countries. I think that there are more because African governments and people are either not willing to present the figures or are refusing to admit that they cannot know the actual figures of people infected with HIV-AIDS. From a layman's point of view, I strongly believe that the problem HIV-AIDS poses is greater than are being made to understand or realize.
Those of us non-scientists involved in the ministry to people living with HIV-AIDS face problems from five angles:
1. Government: The respective African governments first of all deny the reality. Later, they started owning up, but were only paying lip service as what is often allocated to fight the disease is paltry. The money from international donors are often misused, embezzled or distributed to NGOs owned by the public officers in charge of HIV-AIDS Departments in most countries. As long as they are profiting from the foreign aid coming, they will never allow local remedies that may be safer, available and effective. Local initiatives are killed and declared unsafe and illegal in most African countries. I am also aware of the presence of quacks who are trying to cash in on people’s misfortune. There are also quacks among the numerous NGOs claiming grant money. Who owns these NGOs? How are funds distributed to these NGOs. What are the NGOs actually doing? I am only asking questions..., because I see that many of the NGOs collecting grants are just fronts, collecting money for doing nothing.
2. Scientists: African and foreign scientists are not open to any other form of treatment and that is purely political and not scientific. Science is always open to investigation, but when it comes to HIV/AIDS, they think they have exclusive right and power to provide a remedy. Even African scientists are jealous of their colleagues who may be advancing in research. We found this out to be true in Dr. Jeremiah Alabaka’s case in Nigeria. It is very disgusting to hear of how most African medical scientists put down traditional medicine, when in fact many of them patronize native doctors secretly all over Africa, especially when they are faced with life threatening issues and diseases.
3. Western economic super structure: Because so much money is being spent on research, no local initiative is allowed to challenge or compete with the pharmaceutical industries of the developed nations. The worst scenario is the uncooperative attitude of western Christian non-profit organizations that are helping the victims in Africa. In seems that they are working as salesmen for the western companies. They raise money from the churches in the west for HIV/AIDS ministry in Africa, but most of the funds are spent in the West on overhead and bulk purchases from the West. They refuse to cooperate with non-western agencies, and blatantly refuse the idea of alternative medicine. They believe that only western (White) scientists can discover the remedy or cure. They deny the power of prayer in most cases while they are often used to biblically put down all local initiatives as being fetish and sorcery.
4. Devil: We are told that, "Sub-Saharan Africa has been disproportionately affected by the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, accounting for 74 percent of the current 33.4 million people living with HIV and 85 percent of all AIDS related deaths". Also, “to date, over 230,000 African Americans have died of AIDS - nearly 40% of total deaths - and of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States of America today, around half are black. And yet, as a racial group, African Americans represent just 13% of the US population. The estimated lifetime risk of becoming infected with HIV is 1 in 16 for black males, and 1 in 30 for black females, a far higher risk than for white males (1 in 104) and white females (1 in 588). In Washington D.C, which has the nation’s highest district HIV prevalence (3%), three-quarters of those infected with HIV are African American. According to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, African Americans "comprise the greatest proportion of HIV/AIDS cases across many transmission categories, including among women, heterosexual men, injection drug users, and infants." So why are black Americans so disproportionately affected by AIDS in America and how do black Americans themselves view the epidemic? And what is being done to limit the number of new cases of AIDS being identified in clinics across the country?” (www.avert.org). Despite this very sad situation, even in the U.S. most blacks find it difficult to afford treatment as they are not insured. Unlike Africa, anti-retroviral are not distributed freely. Like Africans, adultery and fornication is the order of the day, while the men continue to impregnate women, and are refusing or cannot even provide for the family or the mother and child. These acts of immorality and irresponsibility are are both physical and spiritual. The Devil made me do it syndrome or excuse is not a sufficient reason as we are to take responsibility for our actions. However, I believe it is largely demonic, as it is caused by the Devil who is the arch enemy of God and righteousness.
5. HIV-AIDS Patients: Working with the people living with HIV and AIDS is a complex case. They are unpredictable, and evasive. They are not consistent with treatment, especially when they are getting relief from herbal remedy. They only come back for treatment when they are down. They do not want to be known even by those helping them. They do not want to be told to refrain from sexual intercourse so as not to infect others. Most of them do not tell their spouses of their status and so continue unsafe sex with those that are not infected.
CONCLUSION: Greediness on the part of African leaders and Western multi-nationals are impeding the research and development of safe and effective herbal/ natural products. They have almost made it a crime to use herbal products.
My approach, however, is to establish a mission-based health clinic with emphasis on herbal medicine and faith healing. It is going to be a non-profit platform so that evangelism/preaching of the gospel will take place at the same time. The present situation in Africa is beyond science and synthetic medicine. God must be involved as well as commitment and holiness. And the bottom line is accepting the offer of free life through Christ - which is the only basis for all divine healing.
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