Homeopaths respond to the Abha Light Scandal
Posted by gimpy on May 3, 2011
There is a fine piece of investigative journalism in today’s Independent from Melanie Newman and Alex Chepkoit who have investigated the Abha Light Clinic in Kenya, where homeopaths have been advising patients not to take anti-retroviral drugs to stave off HIV, instead suggesting that homeopathy is a suitable substitute.
The Quackometer has the full story and is a must read.
A homeopath claiming to treat HIV/AIDS with sugar pills is sadly not an isolated event. Homeopathic societies have featured guest speakers on the subject, funded unethical trials, and even awarded fellowships to those who believe that the AIDS epidemic can be halted through homeopathy.
This is a belief that runs deep in the profession.
In response to this expose, homeopaths on internet forums such as Minutus, have shown absolutely no awareness of the egregious nature of their behaviour in Kenya. Karin Mont, Chair of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths – the second biggest organisation representing lay practitioners in the UK, has said ‘Here we go again. The trashers are about to have another feeding frenzy!’.
More worringly, the head of the Abha Light Clinic, Didi Ruchira, has posted the following:
Please remember that the African-based projects are being used as “cannon fodder” for the UK battle. We (all the African projects) continue to need your support and welcome it.
The article was first published in nairobi on 1 May, but is originated from Melanie Neumann for the Independent. We were given right of reply, but it seems that they mostly ignored our points. I will post more information as I can organize it.
Needless to say, the articles are full of distortions and “un-facts”. The only fact I can stand by in that article is the mention that ALF started 1998 and “it runs the country’s largest homeopathic pharmacy“
1 May, Sunday Standard, Kenya
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000034272&cid=159&story=Concern%20over%20NGO%27s%20HIV/Aids%20%27treatment3 May, The Independent, UK
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/an-alternative-for-kenyas-hiv-patients-ndash-or-a-health-scandal-2278049.htmlAbha Light Foundation is one of the oldest organizations working for the promotion of homeopathy in Africa. We started in 1998. It is through ALF that homeopathy has grown in presence in Kenya until there are now more that 4 organizations/groups regularly working here to promote homeopathy and 3 schools.
Between the expat community, Indian-trained or EU-trained Kenyans and the locally trained homeopaths we can count about 100-150 trained homeopaths working in Kenya.
ALF is not the first presence of homeopathy in Kenya. The first homeopath in Kenya came in 1928 from now-Pakistan. His son (now in his 80′s) and his grandson are both homeopaths. But it wasn’t until ALF organized in 1998 that there was a steady outreach and popularization into the local communities.
Although traditional African herbal medicine has always been used here, when I first came to Kenya, few people had awareness about alternative medicine or homeopathy. But over the years, Kenyans – even from the poorest to the richest- are increasingly turning away from allopathy due to its ineffectiveness and side-effects.
That last sentence is chilling. Allopathy is a derogatory term homeopaths use to describe conventional medicine. It is clear there is a missionary zeal at play here, but rather than save the souls of Africans, homeopaths intend instead to sacrifice their bodies by turning them away from lifesaving medicine and towards their ineffective sugar pills.
The average life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa is 30 years less than that of the developed world. This represents a humanitarian problem of immense proportion that will take much wealth, effort and ingenuity to solve. It requires the production and dispersal of life saving medicines and the cooperation of the United Nations health agencies and often unstable governments. What it does not need is are homeopaths from Europe and America whose persistent delusions, and idiotic confidence, can and will kill.
Andysnat said
This sort of thing is just evil.
Neuroskeptic said
In other news, a team of bank robbers were caught red-handed with their hands on big bags of loot and their fingerprints all over the bank.
A spokesman for the Alliance of Master Thieves said : “Here we go again. The police are about to have another feeding frenzy!”
warhelmet said
The last sentence is chilling and is evidence of the contempt that many homeopaths have for conventional medicine. A mindset that can swallow anecdote as incontrovertible evidence of the efficacy of homeopathy and paint all conventional medicines as bad, in spite of their being very strong evidence of efficacy in many cases? Scratch beneath the surface and you find that many homeopaths believe that conventional medicine causes disease. The idea of “suppression” is very common amongst homeopaths. I can remember reading a piece by Vithoulkas claiming that he predicted the AIDS epidemic and that is due to conventional medicine and that the human race would undergo physical, moral and spiritual degeneration as the result of antibiotics et al.
Neil said
Sadly this kind of thing appears to be rife.
There’s a charity in Cornwall collecting cash for treating HIV with plants in south Africa. They have the gall to publish “trial” data on their website boasting of success. I don’t know if they persuade people to stop ARV medication or not but even so …
And another: http://www.laleva.org/eng/2011/03/south_africa_umlingo_wamangcolosi_-_curing_aids_by_being_healthy.html
tanya. said
Gimpy–you are spreading your own evil. How can you even question homeopathy and its effectiveness when you have no clue about how it works or what it can do. You like to see yourself as a skeptic, but you are nothing even close. Skeptics keep open minds while trying to get their questions answered. But you don’t ever ask questions. Your writing is blatant attacks, hyperbole and denialism. Doesn’t sound much like questioning or even paying attention to real evidence.
Quite to the contrary, you can’t seem to fathom the horrific damage done by allopathic drugs and surgery. 1-2 million deaths a year in the US due to allopathic treatment seems like something a real skeptic would turn his eye towards. Particularly when 85-90% of allopathic drugs have very little evidence behind their usage, create major harm and are worse than placebo in many studies.. Of course if you are paid by the drug industry, then it is understandable why you write this drivel.
Nash said
Why do Homeopaths want Africans to die?
film said
There’s a charity in Cornwall collecting cash for treating HIV with plants in south Africa. They have the gall to publish “trial” data on their website boasting of success. I don’t know if they persuade people to stop ARV medication or not but even so …
porn said
That last sentence is chilling. Allopathy is a derogatory term homeopaths use to describe conventional medicine. It is clear there is a missionary zeal at play here, but rather than save the souls of Africans, homeopaths intend instead to sacrifice their bodies by turning them away from lifesaving medicine and towards their ineffective sugar pills.
sikiş said
That last sentence is chilling. Allopathy is a derogatory term homeopaths use to describe conventional medicine. It is clear there is a missionary zeal at play here, but rather than save the souls of Africans