(no subject)
Interesting quote today from Josh Ruxin which expresses a lot of what my concerns AIDS-related aid in the world --- fundamentally we're solving the wrong problem. He says:
The fact is, between providing aid and encouraging business development, you can’t do either exclusively: you must do both. If you only provide
medications and food, you may treat disease, but you’ll have to do it over and over again. Adequate AIDS treatment alone might get us to where we were
25 years ago - but on its own does nothing to cultivate economic productivity. AIDS treatment alone fails to address the root causes of disease. In the
community of Mayange, Rwanda, a Columbia University project recently rolled out voluntary counseling and testing for AIDS. While the community quickly
took advantage of the new service, it was not exactly the talk of the town. Several weeks later, the basket weaving cooperative in Mayange received a
purchase order for $2,000 of coasters and placemats. The community has been talking about that ever since.
Encouraging local business, urging international development, teaching micro-finance and building cooperatives does something health care can’t
accomplish, something that can lift people out of the cycle of disease and despondency. More than “fighting poverty,” which has always seemed to me to
be a goal that’s not ambitious enough, these types of programs can create prosperity. Prosperity is the engine that can pull a whole nation up, and
could bring AIDS down to levels you’d find in Europe or the U.S.
Thoughts?
The fact is, between providing aid and encouraging business development, you can’t do either exclusively: you must do both. If you only provide
medications and food, you may treat disease, but you’ll have to do it over and over again. Adequate AIDS treatment alone might get us to where we were
25 years ago - but on its own does nothing to cultivate economic productivity. AIDS treatment alone fails to address the root causes of disease. In the
community of Mayange, Rwanda, a Columbia University project recently rolled out voluntary counseling and testing for AIDS. While the community quickly
took advantage of the new service, it was not exactly the talk of the town. Several weeks later, the basket weaving cooperative in Mayange received a
purchase order for $2,000 of coasters and placemats. The community has been talking about that ever since.
Encouraging local business, urging international development, teaching micro-finance and building cooperatives does something health care can’t
accomplish, something that can lift people out of the cycle of disease and despondency. More than “fighting poverty,” which has always seemed to me to
be a goal that’s not ambitious enough, these types of programs can create prosperity. Prosperity is the engine that can pull a whole nation up, and
could bring AIDS down to levels you’d find in Europe or the U.S.
Thoughts?