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Can Community-Driven Treatment Programs Break Down Stigma and Fight HIV/AIDS?
I
n dozens of sub-Saharan African nations, the need decisions and investment resources to community groups
for HIV/AIDS treatment greatly exceeds available and local governments. The community-driven development
resources. The World Health Organization (WHO) model demonstrates that a more sustainable system of HIV/
estimated in a December 2004 report that 1.8 million AIDS prevention, care, and treatment can be created.
Zimbabweans have HIV—the virus that causes AIDS—and
less than 3% of the 300,000 people who need antiretroviral The Impact of HIV/AIDS
treatment have access to immediate care. With an estimated AIDSETI arose from the 2000 International AIDS
6,000 people dying of HIV/AIDS in Africa each day, the Conference in Durban, South Africa, and has since become
Israelski.
Some opponents
of the community-
driven model say
that strict regulation
of HIV/AIDS drugs
is imporant in
helping to control
the rapid mutation
of the virus to drug-
resistant forms. The
biggest problem with
dispensing HIV/AIDS
58 stanford scientific
ethics
drugs to communities is that A false-color photograph of +
policy
the treatment regiment is not a T-cell infected with HIV.
strictly controlled to ensure
that no doses are skipped and there are enough
drugs to consistently last an infected person a lifetime.
Otherwise, the virus will mutate more quickly, creating
a bigger problem for the HIV/AIDS challenge of drug-
resistance.
However, Israelski believes that the community-
driven model is not as haphazard as other models and
organizations that simply try to get the drugs to Africa
and then deal with how to distribute them and potential
problems later. Many other models and organizations
prioritize saving lives, but at what cost for the future?
Israelski’s model has a focus that intends to make sure
the community understands why they are being given
these drugs, what the drugs mean, and why they need
Photo Credit: http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sb/July-2004/1_HIV.html
to be responsible for making sure they are administered
correctly. Israelski believes that communities will environment.”
be empowered when they are given the resources to help At the forefront of his future research is an evaluation
themselves solve their own problems. of the impact of coupling community-driven programs
“Community-driven development leads to an empowered with corporate initiatives focused on social responsibility.
community,” he explains. “Through empowerment, vibrant Other groups and organizations advocate community-based
communities are created that can overcome stigma and work, but none of their strategies are as rigorously defined
discrimination.” From his perspective, a few individuals who as the community-driven model. Israelski believes that a