Re: [pronut-hiv] "which is best approach to supplement moderately malnourished HIV-infected children?" (2)

["George Carter" <fiar@verizon.net>]

Thanks for the references and URLs, Nathan. Some interesting material  
therein. I found the EF_Procurement_Guidance_071121.doc very  
revealing but also rather depressing. It's a good thing you don't  
endorse any products since it looks like the vast majority are the  
usual over-priced, nutritionally unsound products.

The document notes:
"The market is considered discrete and specialist world wide with  
only a limited number of providers, and unfortunately signals of a  
monopoly/duopoly are emerging in the United Kingdom. In the UK the  
major suppliers in terms of volume are currently:..."
The document lists the usual suspects: Abbott, Nestle, Novartis,  
Nutricia. Is this all we HAVE for seriously ill people? Sugar waters  
with bad fats for very sick and probably frequently dying patients?

So when you say "If they did not make profits they would be out of  
business and we would not have their products to use" I first reject  
this underlying premise as the very problem that is killing millions  
(preventing access to generic ARV, for example) and on the other  
hand...well...you know what? These particular products, for the most  
part, suck. And it IS important to have these discussions because  
they bear DIRECTLY on why there is still so much famine in the world  
and dismal access to nutrition.

The problems of nutrition are clearly not limited to developing  
nations. (Certainly, in the United States, this is an even bigger  
problem and I've watched people fed garbage with terminal cancer, for  
example. Let alone the fact my nation would rather wage illegal wars,  
kill, maim and harm than do anything genuinely useful....aside from  
shoveling more money into the hands of pharma while more millions  
suffer and die of AIDS, TB, malaria, schistosomiasis, etc.) People  
starve in the U.S. and/or have access to only big company, processed,  
hypersugar, bad fat crap food that's resulting in an obesity  
epidemic. Some of the same companies...and we should buy the model,  
literally, that these companies deserve some kind of respect because  
they keep the shareholders and the parasites on Wall Street happy?? Feh.

I'm not against business. But the notion of "responsibility" seems to  
have been removed from the "rights" part, particularly with larger  
corporations. Others do better - for example, I am...yes...I confess  
it...a Chocoholic. Unrepentant too!! But I ONLY purchase Fair Trade  
brands. And if Africa could overcome the horrific trade barriers, and  
there were more fair trade items available, they'd probably be better  
and more diverse foods and provide opportunities for people to  
survive. But no--again--big corporations take precedence, profit  
rules and those of us with chronic diseases would be just so polite  
to turn over our last remaining wealth and then promptly expire, eh?
Indeed--let's talk about food. The Zambian pamphlet was very helpful  
and I'm reviewing it and the Positive Deviance documents. Great  
resources!

George M. Carter


---- Billing, Nathan wrote:

> George,
>
>  There are a number of companies that make nutritional support  
> products
> that we use here in the U.K. and as health professionals we do not
> necessarily endorse the products, in fact against our code of  
> conduct to
> endorse one product over another as state registered dieticians.
>
>  There are a number of products other than e-pap or plumpy Nut that  
> are
> available that I have had the experience of using while working in  
> South
> Africa that have not been mentioned in this forum.
>
> http://www.diva.co.za/product_info.php?product=Nutri-mil
>
> The complete range
>
> http://www.diva.co.za/product_category.php?cat=Supplemental
>