Scientists Urge WHO to Slam Homeopathy as HIV Remedy

Brits want such treatment ruled out for HIV, TB, malaria

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 1, 2009 8:51 AM CDT

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Scientists Urge WHO to Slam Homeopathy as HIV Remedy — Children play at the Barcelona Baptist Church Center, which cares for children affected by AIDS, near Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, March 23, 2008. When the AIDS pandemic began more than two decades ago, health experts rushed to give out condoms and test for HIV in the hopes of stopping the deadly... (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

Concerned about deaths tied to choice of treatment, British scientists are calling on the World Health Organization to speak out against homeopathy as a way to battle HIV, TB, malaria, influenza, and infant diarrhea. Clinics throughout Asia and sub-Saharan Africa offer to treat such diseases through homeopathy, though there is no evidence that it is effective, reports the Guardian. Currently, the WHO’s position on homeopathy is “wishy-washy,” said a biophysicist.

“Those of us working with the most rural and impoverished people of the world already struggle to deliver the medical help that is needed. When homeopathy stands in place of effective treatment, lives are lost,” the scientists wrote to WHO.
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