AIDS in Africa: problems for research and researchers

Abstract

AIDS was 1st recognized in the US in 1981, but in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) it became publicized in 1983. There are some major problems between the goals of African and Western researchers. These have developed as a result of many Western scientists trying to prove the theory that HIV may have originated in SSA, causing a strong backlash from many African politicians resenting the sensationalized reports in the Western press about the incidence of AIDS in SSA. Such negative reactions has delayed progress in AIDS research, health education and service programs in SSA. Inaccuracies in Western reporting persist, such as HIV seroprevalence figures taken from small local surveys and being quoted as representative of a whole country and even the whole continent. Such extrapolations have had serious political ramifications and have prevented many patients from participating in either hospital or community-based studies. Pressure from Western researchers and their funding agencies to gather data in SSA have overlooked the needs of African communities for services. As the quantity of data from collaborative studies has increased many African researchers are faced with the financial and technical constraints to analyze it, leading to the analysis and interpretation by expatriates without further consultation with African collaborators. SSA needs financial, medical and scientific support to cope with the problem of AIDS. However, the success of controlling the HIV infection in SSA will depend on a more responsible and professional western media, less sensitivity on the part of African governments, and greater financial contributions from donors for the local training of collaborators and for services for local populations. (Author's modified).