But nothing less will do. Providing medical aid and cheaper drugs to those infected is decent and humane. But all the billions to be so spent will not stop one new infection. Even at the lower costs some African leaders demand, anti-viral drugs consume a large amount of resources. At best, it will take years before vaccines are developed, tested, mass-produced and distributed.
Behavioral changes can save lives now, at very low cost.
We must tell African leaders, intellectuals, clergy and other opinion makers in no uncertain terms that their demands for cheaper drugs are fully understandable, but they must stop acting as if the heart of the problem is that the West has not so far provided such drugs on a large scale. We are told that one culture is not to judge another. We practice male circumcision. We are not respectful of our elders. And so it goes.