BEE
THERAPY FOR HIV/AIDS
AIDS
poses a big
threat to human capital and economic development in developing
countries especially Africa. It decimates the sexually active
and productive segment of the continent population with the rural
people being the worst hit. Consequently, the HIV/AIDS scourge
undermines agriculture, which is the main means of livelihood
for the rural people, thus compounding the global poverty situation,
while poverty also exacerbates the AIDS epidemic. The rural dwellers
are the most vulnerable group to HIV/AIDS infection because of
their malnourished and impoverished state. 
In
effect, HIV/AIDS is not just a health issue; it also has social
and economic dimensions. And given the multiple dimensions of
HIV/AIDS, it is therefore pragmatic that any action plan to stem
the epidemic must also multi-dimensional in order to address the
medical, nutritional and economic needs of the infected people
and other vulnerable groups. The burden of HIV/AIDS and poverty
on humanity prompted BCP to initiate a multi-pronged approach
to redress the problem of HIV/AIDS in its different perspectives.
Tagged: Bee Therapy for HIV/AIDS, it is premised on the intricate
link of honeybees to sustainable human development, which encompasses
health care, food security and economic empowerment. It remains
the most pragmatic action plan to unlock the grip of HIV/AIDS
on humanity because it tackles the different facets of the scourge
- poverty, malnutrition and HIV infection. For instance, honeybees
play critical roles to agriculture, the source of nutrition, which
is an essential of component of comprehensive HIV/AIDS management
strategy. Besides, beehive products are also the richest source
of micronutrients and biologically active substances that can
reinforce the body natural resistance to infections.
The
medical component of Bee Therapy for HIV/AIDS is predicated on
the numerous scientific references validating the effectiveness
of bee venom and propolis against HIV/AIDS. Similarly, the efficacy
of honey and other bee products against tuberculosis, malaria,
and other opportunistic infections has also been proved scientifically.
In the economic realm, Bee Therapy for HIV/AIDS takes cognizance
of the fact that any action plan to stem HIV/AIDS must include
poverty reduction measures to address the socio-economic needs
of infected people and other victims of this dreadful scourge.
This is based on BCP's realization that neither poverty nor AIDS
can be tackled separately. Even the position of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) underscores the need to tackle the
two problems together.
According
to UNDP, "AIDS not only creates poverty but also makes it harder
to escape from it. The war against poverty cannot be won without
stopping the spread of AIDS and AIDS cannot be stopped unless
global poverty is tackled". Based on this fact, the economic empowerment
component of this therapy is actualized through beekeeping training
to teach the rural people how to tend bees for honey production
to generate income and to improve crop yields. The training also
includes education on the healthful properties of bee products
and their uses for disease prevention and cure because health
is wealth and a concrete input into economic empowerment. Besides
beekeeping, there are also training opportunities for other bee
crafts designed to creates jobs for the unemployed youth especially
girls who are more susceptible to HIV infection more so that sex
for income is a booming business in urban centres.
In effect, Bee Therapy for HIV/AIDS tackles the problems of poverty
and HIV/AIDS through the exploration of honeybee, which is not
only a sour of nutrition and natural drugs, but also a veritable
resource base to economically empower the poor rural folks and
people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Logic of Preventing HIV/AIDS with Bee Therapy
Most of the
campaigns dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS emphasize
sex as the mode of transmitting or contacting the HIV virus. People
are being advised to abstain; use condom or maintain sexual relationship
with a single partner. But in spite of the various awareness campaigns,
HIV/AIDS continue to decimate human capital, which suggests that
we need more than campaign to prevent the spread of this pandemic.
Unfortunately,
the spread of HIV/AIDS may not abate because the emphasis on sex
as the mode of transmission is not based on reality. For instance,
it has been proven that condom cannot guarantee against HIV infection,
while the option of abstinence is unnatural especially for adults
because sex is a biological need to satisfy the urge of male and
female partners. Invariably, the only plausible option for people
to prevent HIV infection in the realm of sex is to keep to a single
sexual partner. But unknown to many, even those who heed this
line of advice also stand the risk of HIV infection because there
are several means of contacting this dreadful virus other than
sex. In fact, out of about five modes of transmitting HIV virus,
three are beyond the control of individuals. These are unscreened
blood transfusion, unsterilised equipment and contaminated injections.
In other words, the spread of HIV/AIDS may not be contained even
if all of us maintain single sexual partner and there are no more
prostitutes. After all, there are people living with HIV/AIDS
who got infected via means other than sex. For instance, the mothers
of 39 percent of children infected with HIV virus in Kinshasa,
Congo Democratic Republic (CDR) are HIV negative according to
Britain's Royal Society of Medicine. Research later established
the children picked the virus through CONTAMINATED INJECTIONS
administered on them in the course of treatment at hospitals.
Given this
reality about HIV/AIDS, it is therefore imperative that the strategy
to prevent its spread must be overhauled. Because if it has been
proven that people stand the risk of HIV infection in the course
of treatment at hospitals especially in Africa, preventive therapy
may be the most appropriate strategy to stem HIV/AIDS epidemic.
And this is where bee therapy stands out because it has been scientifically
proven in Brazil, United States and Germany that beehive products
particularly propolis and bee venom have anti - HIV and anti -
AIDS properties. The efficacy of honey and other bee products
against Tuberculosis, STDS, Malaria, and other opportunistic infections
has been scientifically validated in universities and hospitals
around the world.
Besides, the
immune boosting properties of beehive products have bee documented
by many medical researchers in Europe, Asia and United States.
For instance, Dr Robert Liebelt, professor of anatomy, Northeastern
Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Ohio, USA said, "products
of beehive contain all the nutritional factors and biological
active substances to help human body function at its maximum capacity".
Send
email to info@beeconservation.org to get the details.
