HIV PREVENTION PILL BACKED BY US EXPERTS

 culled from bbcnews
 

A panel of US health experts has for the first time backed a drug to prevent HIV infection in healthy people.

The panel recommended US regulators approve the daily pill, Truvada, for use by people considered at high risk of contracting the Aids virus.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not required to follow the panel's advice, but it usually does.

Some health workers and groups active in the HIV community have opposed the approval of the drug.

However, correspondents say the move could prove to be a new milestone in the fight against HIV/Aids.

Truvada is already approved by the FDA for people who are HIV-positive, and is taken along with existing anti-retroviral drugs.

Studies from 2010 showed that Truvada, made by California-based Gilead Sciences, reduced the risk of HIV in healthy gay men - and among HIV-negative heterosexual partners of people who are HIV-positive - by between 44% and 73%.

June decision

The Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, which advises the FDA, voted 19-3 in favour of prescribing the drug to the highest risk group - non-infected men who have sex with multiple male partners.

They also approved it, by majority votes, for uninfected people with HIV-positive partners and for other groups considered at risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity.

Truvada has been used as a treatment for people infected with HIV in the US since 2004

The votes followed an 11-hour meeting of the panel in Silver Spring, Maryland, and a lengthy public comments session.

Opposition to the prospect of approving the drug is based on concerns that users could gain a false sense of security, and fears of a drug-resistant strain of HIV.

There is also concern that the high cost of Truvada could divert limited funding from more cost-effective options.

"We need to slow down. I care too much about my community not to speak my concerns," said Joey Terrill, of the Aids Healthcare Foundation, which campaigned against the drug's approval.

Nurse Karen Haughey told the panel: "Truvada needs to be taken every day, 100% of the time, and my experience as a registered nurse tells me that won't happen.

"In my eight years, not one patient that I've cared for has been 100% adherent."

But others welcomed the panel's recommendation.

"This brings us closer to a watershed for global HIV prevention efforts," said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, after the vote.

The FDA is expected to make its decision by 15 June.

In the UK, Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "There is no single method of prevention that can on its own stop the transmission of HIV.

"Adding Truvada to our existing range of prevention programmes, including safer sex campaigns, using condoms and regular testing for HIV is an exciting prospect.

"But we need to know if people at highest risk of infection are prepared to take a pill every day and whether there would be an increase in risk-taking behaviour which could outweigh the prevention effectiveness of Truvada."

He said a clinical trial to invesitgate these issues would begin in the UK in the autumn.

Are We are all traditionalists?

Ebun Osunnike a.k.a Iya Adunbuyinbo, is the President of International Congress of Orisa Congress, Lagos State Chapter, an umbrella organization for all the Orisa Worshippers in Nigeria and in the Diaspora. She had once been a Christian named Ruth, She had once been a Muslim, named Falilat, but today Osunike is dedicated to the propagation of traditional religious worship. She fervently believes that a return to tradional religion will bring about a better society. In this interview with Yemi Olakitan, she bares her mind on various issues affecting tradional religion in Nigeria and why she believes that traditional religion is the best . Excerpts.
MOST people have abandoned traditional religion for Christianity and Islam, Why have you remained in it?
The Christians and Muslims have not abandoned our traditional religion. They deceive themselves when they say that they have abandoned our traditional practices and I will tell you why. There are ways in which they still observe our traditional religion. The Muslims still use what they call ‘‘Tira’’ which is a kind of charm if you look at it well. During the Salah celebrations, a good Muslim must slaughter his own ram and share such with the neighbors.
In the Christian Bible, Jesus was sacrificed for the sins of the world. The death of Christ was a sacrificial offering. In the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, God told them to make sacrificial offerings of bulls and rams. Therefore, it is all interwoven and related. Tradition is supreme and we are all involved in these practices in one form or the other. Each religion has its own rites and rituals. So, don’t tell me that they have abandon tradition. In actual fact, traditional religion is the first-born. Look at our Muslim and Christian brothers, particularly in Yorubaland, there are few names that do not have a connection with a Yoruba deity. Our names are either attached to Ogun the god of iron, Ifa the god of Divination, or Osun, the River goddess. These are deities that are attached to traditional religion, although these people may claim to be Christians or Muslims. The fact is that traditional religion is the religion of our ancestors. Look at Governor Fashola. He may claim to be a Muslim; his name is derived from Ifa. Traditional religion is the first. Islam and Christianity are foreign religions. Islam was imported from Saudi Arabia, while Christianity was imported from Europe. They are not our culture originally. We accepted these religions because we do not know the value of what we have. The white man knows what he has and he packages it well and he gave it to us and we accepted his own religion to the detriment of ours. I had been a Christian before, my baptismal name was Ruth and I had been a Muslim as well, my Muslim name was Falilat. I have examined the two and I prefer Orisa Worship.
Don’t You feel odd Atimes, being a traditionalist among a sea of Muslims and Christians?
I grew up with traditional religion. My father was a staunch traditionalist and so was my mother. I know the value of what we have. We have inherited a strong religion full of deep spirituality and strong philosophy of life. Honestly, there is nothing in Christianity or Islam that is not in Orisa Worship. My father’s name was Ogundeyi, my son’s name is Ogunshina and my other son’s name is Ifashola.
You see, traditional religion works if you practice it with truthfulness and right living. I believe in the Orisas. People have different problems. Christians, Muslims and even atheists all come to us for help including those who condemn us in public. I want to appeal to Christians to stop castigating us. They say, all we do is evil. That is a lie!
People come to us with problems and we are able to help them. Some come with unemployment problems, some barrenness, some business problems. We consult the Orisas for the solution and the solutions are always there.
What is the position of traditional religion on life after death?
In Yoruba traditional religion, there is a strong belief in life after death. Life does not end here on earth. If you do good, you will have your reward and if you do bad, you will also be rewarded. Everyone has spiritual groups in heaven (egbe orun). These groups depend on your character and the kind of life you live on earth while you were here. You see, birds of the same feather flock together. If you are a robber when you are alive, you will have spiritual affiliations with robbers in heaven and you will suffer with them. Let me give you a very classic example. A woman came to me in search of a child. She had been married for many years. I told her what she must do to cure her barrenness. She must offer sacrificial offerings to her spiritual group but she screamed “Jesus!” She went away because she found it difficult to accept because of her religious background. She came back to me after two years ready to offer the offerings. Today, she is blessed with a bouncing baby girl because of her obedience. You see, there is no one without groups in heaven. However, you need to live right in order to enjoy their blessings.
Tell us about your work and your association
Well, I am the president of the Orisa Congress in the whole of Lagos State. I went to Abuja to establish it. I have established it in Minna, Sokoto, Benin Republic and every state of the Western Region. We are present in the United States of America. We are in Europe as well. Professor Wande Abimbola in Ile Ife established Orisa Congress, when he was a Professor at the Obafemi Awolowo University. He is the President of the Association, worldwide. Araba Awo of Oshogbo, Chief Yemi Elebun Ibon is the National President of the Congress of Orisa Worshipers. Traditional religion is the first-born and it is supreme.
Our Association is fully registered with the government. We are registered just like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). However, the government does not recognize us. They give attention to the Muslims and the Christians but not to us. We want to move close to the government, but our government is like a woman who gives birth to three children but abandons one. They have thrown traditional religion away.
But we are the true identity of the country. The others are foreign importations. In traditional religion, you cannot lie. If you do evil, evil will overtake you. Many people today cannot practice traditional religion because their works are evil; and the Orisa don’t condone evil. That that is why they hide under Christianity and Islam and yet many still come to us for deliverance. As an Osun Priestess for example, I cannot lie or cheat. It is what Osun asks for that I must ask for from the client. If Osun does not ask for money, I cannot ask for money. Yet, you will never lack. All the Orisas do not encourage wickedness. Therefore, it is wrong to associate traditional religion with evil. I also want to appeal to the Nollywood people who are making films to portray us in good light. They are castigating our collective cultural heritage. The images of Christianity and Islam are just products of good branding. Let us portray our culture and tradition in positive light to the outside world.
True, there are some people that go about parading themselves as Orisa Worshipers. They are dressed in white and they sit in public places begging for money. These people are not part of us. It is not Yoruba Culture to beg for money. It is not even in the tenets of Orisa worship. It is completely unacceptable. You don’t beg for money. You work with you hands. This is what the Orisas instruct us to do, although there is a certain deity that instructs his followers to go and ask for money and pray for those who give. However, this comes up at a particular season and when that season is past, you cannot continue to do it as if you are a beggar. It is totally against the religious inclination of Orisa Worship to turn oneself into a beggar and be begging in the name of religion. I have trained several priestesses. You cannot find them begging for money. Those who are doing that have deviated from tradition.
What other advice do you have for the Government?
The government should recognize us more. A father who has three children but throws away one is not a good father. If the Christians can help in nation building, we can also help. The Boko Haram issue, for example. They are not spirits, they are human beings. The government should involve all of us in finding solutions to the problem of the nation.

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Nigerians Remember Awolowo

By Charles Coffie Gyamfi

FRIENDS, family members, leaders of thought and political associates of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, yesterday gathered at Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State, country home of the political icon to mark the 25th anniversary of his transition.

At the well-attended ceremony were Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Chief Segun Osoba and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, both former governors of Ogun State.

Former Lagos State Governors, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Bola Tinubu; erstwhile Ekiti Governors, Niyi Adebayo and Segun Oni; Afenifere leaders, Chief Ayo Fasanroti and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, were also at the event.

Others were former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Chief Edwin Clark, Gen. Oladipo Diya, Chief Adeyinka Adebayo, Chief Olu Falae, and Chief Olaniwun Ajayi.

In his speech, Governor Amosun described the late Awo as an “icon of immeasurable stature; an administrator of impeccable integrity; a statesman of statesmen; and a leader who put the people first. The array of individuals and organisations represented at this gathering attests to this”.

The governor also told the congregation at the church service held at the Saint Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne: “At this period of our national life, Nigeria is in dire need of people who play politics of self-sacrifice, commitment and focus.  Papa had graciously provided us with a time-tested compass to chat the right path”.

In his the sermon, Rt. Rev. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi urged the country’s leaders to keep the legacy of the late sage alive.

He also charged all South-West politicians to desist from playing politics of bitterness but “and close rank towards development of the region and returning it to its lost glory”.

Adebiyi challenged the nation’s leaders to go back to agriculture as a basis for economic development.

The cleric bemoaned the disunity among the Yoruba, 25 years after the demise of Chief Awolowo.

Rev. Adebiyi lamented that there was no significant improvement in the socio-economic and political life of the old Western Region since the demise of the late sage and blamed those who came after Awo for the plight of the region.

He regretted the failure of the Yoruba nation “to put forward an acceptable leader in the mould of the late Chief Awolowo due to pursuit of personal interest, agenda, political intolerance, bitterness and compromising their integrity”.

The cleric observed that the current Yoruba nation “is weak, incoherent and divided and may go into irrelevance in no distant time if it is not united.”

Adebiyi, therefore, urged Yoruba leaders, irrespective of their political and religious affiliations to take advantage of the 25th memorial anniversary of Awo’s passage to unite the Yoruba nation.

He called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Tinubu to lead the reconciliatory process in order to “chart a new course and forget the past”.

He commended Mama HID Awolowo for her doggedness in keeping alive the ideological torch of her husband 25 years after, particularly sustaining the Tribune newspaper and other legacies.

Speaking with reporters after the service on the question of Yoruba unity and leadership, Tinubu said only the people could choose their own leaders, stressing that Chief Awolowo emerged leader because the Yoruba race approved his quality work and conduct.

His words: “Once you make people the cornerstone of your politics, then you are in step with the legacy of Papa Awolowo. Nobody can really step into Awolowo’s shoes – except to continue in his vision and philosophy of development, his character discipline and his emphasis on true federalism, justice and democracy.  These are what we should all pursue.”

Tinubu said while all Yoruba were one stock, political unity in the South-West would be difficult going by the area’s political culture.

His words: “Historically, the Yoruba have always belonged to different parties.  You have the right to belong to any party.  What is important is that we must all uphold the values of justice, democracy and the developmental ideals espoused by Awolowo.”

Amosun said: “Chief Obafemi Awolowo touched many lives during his sojourn on earth. As the first Premier of the defunct Western Region, the policies and programmes of his administration still serve as reference point for government at all levels over five decades after he left office. The free primary education and unprecedented rural and agricultural development engendered by his administration, for instance, positively affected many lives and generations.

“Chief Obafemi Awolowo lived his life in service to the people.  He was known by both friends and foes to be a serious-minded federalist and advocate of the rule of law, who wanted the best for his people and country. No wonder, there are several people today who claim or pretend to be adherents of Awolowo’s ideals”.

The governor then queried: “The question is: how many of them have the moral ethos, principles and commitment to positive ideological bent like Chief Awolowo? It is because he left a legacy worth emulating that almost every politician in the South-West part of our country sees his name as a launch-pad for their political careers.

“My advice, however, is that those who share the same ideology or believe they have been influenced by Awolowo’s socio-economic and political thoughts should move from being lip-service disciples to living and demonstrating such ideals”.

Amosun also submitted that if Chief Awolowo were alive, the sage would have been happy with his (Amosun) performance in office .

His words: “Papa will be happy with the way we have re-introduced functional free education, providing free text-books and instructional materials like his close associate, late Chief Olabisi Onabanjo did in 1982”.

“He (Awolowo) would also be happy with the Health Care Centres and our determination to ensure that all the 236 wards in the state has at least one PHC, well-equipped and manned by good medical personnel in the next few years.

“Chief Awolowo will be happy with our revolutionary policies in agricultural production and how we hope to make our state the food basket and home of the largest number of agro-allied industries”.