[procaare] Speak Your World: Q & A with Professor Mark Wainberg

["HDN KC Team" <correspondents@hdnet.org>]

Speak Your World: Q & A with Professor Mark Wainberg
HDN Key Correspondent
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"I DON'T THINK THAT THREE MILLON PEOPLE WILL BE ON ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY BY THE END OF 2005. BUT I THINK JUST THIS GOAL OF ATTEMPTING IS WORTHWHILE." 

(Professor Mark Wainberg of McGill University AIDS Centre and co-chair of
the upcoming International AIDS Conference (IAC) was recently in New Delhi,
India to attend the first national conference of the AIDS Society of India.
While there, he spoke with HDN about care, treatment and support for people
living with HIV and about his hopes for the next IAC in Toronto, 2006) 

Below is an edited version of the interview. To read and/or to comment on
the full interview, please go to:
http://aidscarewatch.blogspot.com/2005/04/q-with-professor-mark-wainberg.html
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Q. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the scale-up of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS at this conference. In your opinion, how vital are ARVs? 

A. The main way to help people who are HIV positive live longer is to give
them antiretroviral drugs. There is no substitute for that. 

Q. But how will we keep the millions of people alive today, who are waiting
for antiretroviral drugs to become available and affordable? 

A. The best way to keep people living with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) alive is to
ensure that they have proper nutrition, proper emotional support, and
opportunities to continue to feel that their lives are meaningful and
worthwhile. 

Q. The next International AIDS Conference will be held under your guidance
in Toronto in 2006. What kind of progress have you made to encourage Canadian authorities to relax their entry requirements vis-a-vis declaration of their HIV status?

A. Canada has no official policy to discriminate against people living with HIV/AIDS. When people from other countries [like India] require a visa to go to Canada to attend the conference, the visa form may ask the question 'Do you suffer from any form of chronic illness or infectious disease?' 
 
HDN Key Correspondent Team
Email: correspondents@hdnet.org