South Africa says use garlic to fight AIDS

STRESSING the benefits of olive oil, garlic and beetroot, South Africa’s health minister yesterday said good nutrition was just as important as anti-retroviral medicines for people infected with the AIDS virus and that her government would not be pressured into meeting UN treatment targets.

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, long accused by health activists of not doing enough to combat the spread of AIDS said far too little was known about the side-effects of the drugs.

“I don’t want to be pushed or pressurised by a target,” she said in reference to the global target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAids.