By Onche Odeh , Senior Correspondent (Reporting from Boston, Massachusetts)


Fear of corruption may have prevented a team of medical experts in the United States and their counterparts in Africa from continuing in an earlier plan to include Nigeria in the list of potential trial sites for a modern HIV diagnostic tool.

The team has instead opted to conduct the trials of their new tool in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and possibly Botswana.

The new tool, specifically designed to make HIV diagnosis available and affordable in developing countries, is a handheld CD4 counter that is cheap, easy and transportable.

This, according to the inventors, could make a big difference for the care of people living with HIV in developing countries and other remote areas.

CD4 cells are a type of white blood cells that fight infection. HIV destroys CD4 cells, weakening the body’s immune system and ultimately causing AIDS. The CD4 counts of HIV positive people are usually determined before a patient receives antiretroviral therapy and then measured regularly while the patient is on therapy.

Although infectious disease expert at Harvard Medical School and leader of the team, Dr. William Rodriguez, said the reasons the four countries were chosen is based on pre-existing relationships he has with them, the real reason Nigeria and China were dropped from the list of potential sites could be absolute fear of corruption.

“Trials for the technology is to hold in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and possibly Botswana. The main reason is that I have the best pre-existing relationships there; no other real reason, except that they are also good sites,” Rodriguez confirmed to Saturday Independent in Boston.

However, he had stated during one of the speeches he delivered at seminars to the current Knight Fellows at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), that it was difficult to pitch one of the trial sites in Nigeria because it was imminent that corruption would set in, but at what point was unknown to the team, hence it was better to avoid such.

For China, it was more of language difficulties, although the problem of corruption was a factor too.

This may have excluded Nigeria from sharing in the benefits that accrue to countries involved in the trials.

Rodriguez confirmed to Saturday Independent that the tool is likely to be commercialised in 2010. “If all goes well, we expect commercialisation at the end of 2010,” he said.

The latest low-cost CD4 counter is one of many HIV diagnostics that have been invented by Rodriguez and his team. He believes this could have a huge positive impact in the struggle to reduce the global burden of HIV/AIDS.

“Other people can comment on the impact, but making CD4 testing widely available at sites where pregnant women receive care (PMTCT sites), at VCT sites, at remote health clinics and health posts should help reduce the global burden of HIV,” he said.

Daily Independent

forget all the US hypes about nigeria being a corrupt nation

what are you saying then? Do you mean that they are lying.

ve never said corrupt is good. but any time the Washington pple change their mind about naija, it is always premised on corruption

what else do you want them to base their decisions on? Is there any other problem greater than the corruption inherent?

u seem not to understand the diplomatic angle that this all about. just keep copying and pasting

what diplomacy.You see Africans like you are fools who never recognise that there is no diplomacy better than putting your house in other. Just look at it,in your own Africa,somalia needs 40,000 troops to stablize.No one can help out,Gahdafi is only interested in ruling a United States of Africa,all the presidents of Africa are enmeshed in corruption.The continent is backward and in perpetual depression and you are opening your fool's mouth to talk of diplomacy.Diplomacy my foot,get your house in other and other nations will respect you. Obama has gone to china to recognise china as a fellow super power,fulfilling late samuel huntington prophecy in his book clash of civilization.Instead of a revolution calling for change in Africa,you are talking of cowardice diplomacy.where was your president during the UN summit.

to start with i dont argue with lads that lump issues together in the name of wanting a longer post count. secondly, i prefer grown up that look at the bigger picture and not allow sentiments to override their objective sense of reasoning. when u are set for something important start by understanding issues from the diplomatic angle and what is going on in that circle especial when it concerns Washington and abuja then we can cross fertilise ideas. thanks

Chapelle.S:

You see Africans like you are fools who never recognise that there is no diplomacy better than putting your house in other.

you've just screwed up your own post.

no sentiments.lets be pragmatic.is this the africa/nigeria we all want? between washington and abuja,it is glaring that we share similiar characteristics. our government is patterned exactly like that of america courtesy of zik,we are supposed to occupy the same position US occupies on global affairs in Africa.where are we today? smaller nations like Ghana that is only the population of lagos is rendering insults on us.am not interested in enlongating any post.am even outraged at the comparison between facebook and nairaland.this are two parallel.you can hook me up on frankgod02@yahoo.com or frankgod02@gmail.com. for further cross-fertilization of ideas.i love Nigeria but the conditions inherent makes me bitter.

no cause for alarm, ve seen ur profile and your kind of friends. u can always discuss with them. i now understand where u are coming. ase se jaju oge omo oko ni, ojo jumo lo ma n we

Is hiv worth celebrating?

you see thats the problem with Nigeria.Its a mismatch.What thats gibberish in yoruba.you think that it is everyone that understands the language.anything you said there is for you and your generation

~Bluetooth:

Is hiv worth celebrating?

the young man just registered and all he has been doing is copy and paste the way JONAS** use  do when join the site

i got u there too. it is a communication skill that prolific speakers use to bring out curiosity in their audience. so, i forgive your premature outburst

I never knew he's is a jjc, maybe he should go & learn before posting,

some of them dont take time to learn before posting. all they want is attention. check his facebook friends, NL posting statistics and contributions. then u will draw some hypothesis and finally take a stand about the young man

Abeg no kill me with laff,

this anonymity of nairaland is good,it portrays how stupid and foolish minded Nigerians have become as a result of the persistent suffering and neglect meted out on them by the government

sometimes, we must not join issues with some pple. ve learn oooo. before now when some give some comments, u will be thrown into a serious confusion as if i can see the person one on one. when i discovered the idea of searching more about the person, ve stopped troubling myself whenever i notice a less intelligent comment and post

What is anonymity here, I'm a nigerian living in nigeria and not some idiots hiding their identity to gain cheap popularity.if u want to know me,u let me know cuz i dont need to broadcast my personality!

@ jimmysho

you need to go for a holiday outside kaduna for one week.Not in Nigeria but possibly Ghana,south africa or kenya.Europe,asia or america may be too far and unaffordable.when you do that and enjoy 24/7 electricity in a less poorer country than Nigeria,it will change the way you think.right now,your thinking faculty is not clear but gloomy.try and see

@bluetooth

no need to flare up.the same recommendation and recipe for you.i dont know where you live but i see that you have that disease inflicted on over 150million nigerians by its government.you want to know the disease,go to saudi hospitals,they will diagnose it.

bluetooth, why disturbing urself. lets analyze his statement.

1. what does anonymity has to do with suffering of nigerians?

2.being anonymous, does it make u silly?


this same post, ve seen it in several of his post.

ukachukwu, stop being mischievous, u cant learn the way in which u are going. thread softly. take the right path

learn what? nonsense,nonsense!! when all nigerians are cowards.demand for your right,they say that you are asking too much.talk sense what they what is nonsence.am sorry for all Nigerians.go and read my blog.i advised Yar'adua to resign on nov 9th before the hand of God came down on him.say anything about it on nairaland.overly emotional misplaced priority patriotic coward nigerians say otherwise.

making a comment will be descending so low.

he that is down need fear no fall.you are already low.where do you want to descend again.LMAO suffering and neglect has beclouded your reasoning.when was the last time you saw nepa for 24 hrs.have you even experienced it since you were born? you need a holiday outside nigeria.

I dont really know what you wish to achieve by your outburst, What is your problem with nigeria,

my problem? amidst wealth Nigerians are suffering.the sole cause is the leadership(Daily Independent polls confirmed this).My friend use to joke that Nigeria is a place where the rich suffers. if any reasonable Nigerian calls for change.he is vilified and asked to shot up.we prefer to suffer in silence.

You are not a nigerian,why are you so much interested in the affairs of nigeria.All i keeping seeing from your posts are insults, Wetin be ur own sef