HIV/AIDS research program

Activity in the African Pod
significantly expanded recently when the Foundation took on an
innovative HIV/AIDS research program in Mali late last year.

The
program, which is being guided by Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless and Jack
Zimmerman, both with long associations with TOF, has both medical and
social/cultural facets. The medical portion is a controlled
(non-placebo) evaluation of 'Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN),' a medication
that has shown great promise in treating autoimmune illnesses such as
MS, fibromyalgia, Crohn's Disease and more recently, autism. Naltrexone
is an FDA approved generic opiate antagonist and at less than one-tenth
the usual dosage modulates/strengthens the human immune system in a way
that significantly reduces the symptoms of these illnesses. Clinical
experience has shown that LDN can prevent HIV- positive adults from
developing full-blown AIDS for up to 18 years to date in the first
group of users. However, the Mali Project will be the first controlled
study to assess its effectiveness. LDN is inexpensive, non-toxic, and
simple to use with no known side effects--and it can be made into a
transdermal cream for treating children. Since the HAART medications
are costly, have side effects requiring extensive medical monitoring,
and are too toxic for most children to use, the implications of LDN's
usefulness in dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic are enormous. This
program is being supported by the Government of Mali.

The second facet of the Mali Program arises from the need to stem the
tide of HIV infection by facing the inequality of empowerment between
men and women in traditional African Cultures. It is widely accepted by
international health experts and local authorities alike that gender
inequality and men's traditional cultural entitlement are primary
factors in creating and maintaining the AIDS catastrophe in many
developing countries, with 65% of new cases now occurring in girls and
women. In Africa the majority of women who are HIV-positive have been
infected by their husbands. Traditional gender mores dictate that women
cannot refuse sex and cannot insist on condoms. U.N. officials and
others have stated that this epidemic will not abate until women become
empowered to protect their own health and the health of their children.

To implement this part of the project the 250 participants in the
medical study will be given an opportunity to participate in monthly
two-hour education and communication councils (either men's, women's or
mixed groups), one private hour-long interview and the evaluation of a
comprehensive questionnaire with a counselor. Ten counselors from
Bamako University and Bamako AIDS Center will be trained in the council
process by experienced TOF trainers, Amber McIntyre and Jesse Jessup,
currently based in Cape Town, South Africa. If this LDN/Gender
Education program is shown to be effective, it can become a prototype
for initiatives to help reduce HIV/AIDS incidence in other developing
countries that face similar challenges.

For more information please visit the LDN Africa AIDS web site