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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Kate Roberts, Helene Gale

Aired December 01, 2001 - 09:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Before the world went to war against terrorism, there was another global war, against AIDS. That fight is continuing as the nation marks World AIDS Day. United Nations officials say that while AIDS may not be making major headlines, the infection multiplies at an alarming rate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOUISE FRECHETTE, U.N. DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL: More than 40 million people are now living with HIV-AIDS. That's an increase of 4 million from the year before. Every hour of every day, almost 600 people are infected. Every minute, a child dies of the virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Well, experts say that HIV infection rates are climbing fastest in Central Asia, India, and the former Soviet bloc countries.

To get a better picture of the state of AIDS today, we are joined by Kate Roberts with Population Services International in Washington, and Dr. Helene Gale, with the Bill Gates Foundation in Seattle.

Thank you both for joining us this morning.

All the talk in the post-September 11 world, talking about anthrax, talking about terrorism, talking about the fighting in Afghanistan. Nobody has been talking, at least that I've heard publicly, about AIDS. This has to be distressing to both of you.

Helene, can we begin with you?

DR. HELENE GALE, GATES FOUNDATION: Well, I think it's appropriate, given the recent threats, that that take center stage. But I think we have to remember that in the meantime, HIV is continuing to increase throughout the world and cause real devastation on people, communities, and societies. And so we can't forget, while we continue to look at these other issues, that we must intensify our efforts if we want to make a difference in this epidemic.

SAVIDGE: Kate, we know that perhaps the public being distracted is understandable. But is it having a negative impact, whether it be on research, fund raising, or just the public awareness?

KATE ROBERTS, POPULATION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL: Yes, absolutely, especially on fund raising. If you think that 8,000 people a day die of AIDS, 60 million people have been affected since the beginning of this disease, a third of which are youth, the youth, aged 15 to 24, are the hardest hit. And massive efforts need to be put behind prevention and education.

SAVIDGE: What is the impact as far as the spread of AIDS now? Where is it spreading fastest? Who's most at risk? Helene?

GALE: Well, as was mentioned, the fastest growing epidemic now is in Eastern Europe and particularly in the Russian Federation. There were a quarter of a million new HIV infections added in that region, bringing that total to a million. We're having -- seeing very, very rapid spread in countries in Asia.

However, the greatest impact continues to be in sub-Saharan Africa, where 28 million of the 40 million people living with HIV reside. And so we've got to continue to keep our eye on the new spread, new epidemics, but remember that we also have to look at the areas that have been most hard hit since the beginning of the epidemic. The Caribbean, for instance, is the second region in terms of rates of HIV infection.

And so this is definitely a global pandemic. The needs may be different in different regions, but we've got to keep our eye on the whole picture if we're going to have an impact on this epidemic. So it's -- it continues to be serious. We need to continue to intensify our efforts, continue the fund raising, continue to look at prevention efforts...

SAVIDGE: Well, let me interrupt you just...

GALE: ... giving access to care to people who already have the infection...

SAVIDGE: Let me stop you just for a moment, so that I can get Kate in to talk about the issue of getting medications, ones that have been very successful in the United States in coping with this disease, to these nations, to these areas that need it most. Are we making progress there?

ROBERTS: Is that question to me?

SAVIDGE: Yes, it is, Kate.

ROBERTS: Well, PSI actually develops prevention campaigns; so in the absence of a cure or a vaccine, which are not available in the developing world, as you know. These efforts need to be put behind education.

We are actually working very hard against the myths and other barriers that we have with education and prevention and what people actually perceive the problem of AIDS.

For instance, in some parts of Africa and Asia, men believe by having sexual relations with a virgin, it will cure them of AIDS, which of course is not true. We particularly have a big problem with the trusted partner. If a couple begin relations, then they do use condoms, but then after a while, they believe they're in a relationship and they don't need to use condoms any more.

SAVIDGE: But my question, Kate, was whether we are moving ahead in getting drugs that we know that are good at targeting against AIDS, won't cure it, but help the patient, are we good at -- are we starting to make progress getting these to third world nations?

GALE: Well, I think we are starting to make progress, but we also know that drugs are not the panacea. And while it is so important that we continue our efforts to get broader access to drugs that have made a tremendous difference in the quality and the length of life for people living in HIV in rich countries, 90 to 95 percent of infections exist in poor countries.

So we have to put that as a priority to get better access to therapies, and that's not just anti-retroviral therapies, drugs against HIV, but for instance, tuberculosis is the leading cause of death in people who have HIV. We can do a lot, and we know how to cure tuberculosis, so that's a simpler medication that is -- that we should be getting greater access to while we work on getting the more expensive, complicated drugs to people in developing countries.

We also have to remember that access to therapies helps to reinforce our efforts in prevention. So it's not either treatment or prevention, but how can we do a better job to have a comprehensive approach to this epidemic and make sure that we're giving people prevention services that they need and increasing access to the whole range of drugs, care, and support that can make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV.

SAVIDGE: All right, Kate and Helene...

ROBERTS: And their families.

SAVIDGE: ... I'm sorry, and Kate especially, I wanted to give you the last word, but we are out of time. Thank you both for joining us and talking about this very, very vital issue, despite the distractions we may feel we face in the world today. Thank you both.

GALE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Thank you.

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