UNAIDS should be "closed down rapidly."  Its mandate is "wrong and
harmful."

I can picture you rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself: here we
go again; crackpot Martin with another of his off-the-wall ideas.
However, the suggestion that UNAIDS is "wrong and harmful" and should
be "closed down rapidly" comes from a health management expert.

<http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/austria/countries/switzerland/health-expert-call
s-end-un-hiv-programme-$1222028.htm>:

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The joint United Nations programme on HIV and Aids should be "closed
down rapidly", according to a health management expert.

Roger England, chairman of Health Systems Workshop - an independent
advisory group on health management in poor countries - says UNAids
should be disbanded as its mandate is "wrong and harmful".

Launched in 1996, UNAids is based in Switzerland and works in more
than 80 countries worldwide against the spread of HIV and Aids.

Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Mr England says the
agency was set up on the argument that HIV and its impact are
exceptional.

But he writes that this argument is no longer valid and says the
claims HIV needs its own body as it can tip households into poverty
would also apply to all serious diseases and disasters.

"HIV is a major disease in southern Africa, but it is not a global
catastrophe, and language from a top UNAids official that describes it
as 'one of the make-or-break forces of this century' and a 'potential
threat to the survival and well-being of people worldwide' is
sensationalist," Mr England said.

"Worldwide the number of deaths from HIV each year is about the same
as that among children aged under five years in India."

He argues that "far too much is spent on HIV relative to other needs
and that this is damaging health systems".

His estimates claim HIV causes 3.7 per cent of mortality but receives
a quarter of international healthcare aid and a "big chunk" of
domestic expenditure.

"HIV exceptionalism is dead - and the writing is on the wall for
UNAIDS," Mr England said.

"Why a UN agency for HIV and not for pneumonia or diabetes, which both
kill more people?"

He added: "UNAids should be closed down rapidly, not because it has
performed badly given its mandate, which it has not, but because its
mandate is wrong and harmful.

"Its technical functions should be refitted into [the World Health
Organisation], to be balanced with those for other diseases."

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HIVAIDS has failed to live up to any of the threats and promises made
about it.  I doubt we'll see UNAIDS shut down anytime soon because too
many people have a vested interest in keeping the HIVAIDS dream alive,
however the HIV rats are searching for the lifeboats on the HIVAIDS
ship.