AIDS REPORT FROM COLOMBIA

By Roberto A. Giraldo, M.D.

Dec. 1996

I would like to inform our group "Reappraising" about an "AIDS debating tour" I carried out through several cities of my country Colombia recently:

1. I gave 14 lectures in 7 cities. In most places there was a discussion of the controversy upon the etiology of AIDS with the health care professionals dealing with AIDS in Hospitals, Cities or States. The title of the lecture was:

"INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC DEBATE: AIDS IS NEITHER AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE NOR SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED".

2. Organizing Committee:

During three months there was a Central committee organizing and promoting the lectures and the debates. The main coordinator of this committee is Mr. Angel Galeano, journalist and Director of a periodical of sciences and arts called The Little Newspaper, which has published several articles on the AIDS controversy.

A subcommittee did the work in each Colombian city. The members of these committees are MDs, nurses, bacteriologists, epidemiologists and journalists who know the work I have been doing as an AIDS dissident during the last decade.

From New York I sent to the central committee several documents and papers from Dr. Peter Duesberg and other members of Reappraising, so that they could promote the events.

In September a Colombian scientific journal (Revista de Investigacion y Educacion en Enfermeria from University of Antioquia) published an article of mine: "International Scientific Debate upon AIDS", which was also useful to promote the discussion.

3. The following was the schedule and the main activities in each city:

MEDELLIN.

a) October 18. Lecture. 500 people. University of Antioquia: International affair Office, School of Medicine, School of Nurses, School of Bacteriologists, and the National School of Public Health.

b) October 22. Lecture. 150 MDs doing Alternative or holistic Medicines.

c) October 23. Debate. 500 people. Three HIV MDs: an Infectious Diseases Doctor, A Microbiologist and an Epidemiologist. The three of them have a large experience in diagnosing, treating and preventing AIDS (HIV­AIDS). The microbiologist wrote a book on HIV and AIDS. From our side there was Dr Helman­Sabdi Alfonso, a geneticist and director of research in a prestigious University in Barranquilla (Metropilitana University), who wrote a recent book in Spanish The Great Fiasco: AIDS is not Caused by HIV, which has an excellent description of Professor Peter Duesberg's views on AIDS. I closed the fifth presentation of the debate before opening the discussion with the audience. The public gave many more arguments on our side. There were several health care Colombian Government authorities within the public.

Both the lecture on October 18 and the debate on October 23 were transmitted in direct (live) by the Cultural Radio Station of the University which covers the entire State of Antioquia. After the debate there were several news in radio and TV upon our views on AIDS as a Toxic and nutritional syndrome rather than an infectious disease.

MAGANGUE. October 28. 200 people. Local Medical Association and a Civic Organization promoted the lecture. Lecture attended mostly by Health Care Workers and town leaders.

CARTAGENA. October 30,

a) 8:00 am. 1000 people.University of Cartagena. Cedetrabajo and the Local Medical Association. Mostly students and staff from University health care faculties.

b) 12:00 noon. 200 people. Hospital of the National Institute of Social Security.

BARRANQUILLA. November 1. 400 people. Universidad Libre and Atlantic University. Cedetrabajo.

BOGOTA. November 7.

a) 12:00 noon. 1500 MDs from all over the country. Annual Colombian National Medical Association Congress.

b) 6:00 pm. 200 people. Colombian National Association of Nurses and Colombian National Association of Health Care Workers.

YOPAL. November 8. 300 people. Health care Workers. Local Association of Health care professionals.

CALI. November 14.

a) 8:00 am. 250 people. University of VALLE Medical Center.

b) 6:00. 50 people. Lecture to civic leaders of Cali.

NEW YORK. October 1. 100 people. Carried out at the Colombian Consulate in Manhattan and organized by the U.S. Colombian SIDA/AIDS Foundation. The Association of Colombian Professionals and Students Abroad (PECX) helped also in the promotion of this lecture.

4. In all lectures and debates there were local, state and national civic leaders, journalists, government health care authorities, artists, AIDS activists, health care professionals, AIDS researchers, immunologists, virologists.

5. In each city, the organizer committee made newspapers articles, radio, and TV programs to promote the lectures and the debates. They made big boards for universities and hospitals with information on books and main references from Duesberg and other researchers of Reappraising. They sent invitations to private and public institutions and associations with a three pages summary of my lecture and 60 references.

6. "Colombian Association for the Scientific Reappraising of the Etiology of AIDS" (TOXISIDA).

On November first we created this organization as a branch of our international "Group for the Scientific Reappraising of the HIV­AIDS Hypothesis", which main objective is to stimulate in Colombia the debate and discussion upon the controversy about the cause of AIDS. Currently they are creating chapters of TOXISIDA in each city.

For the First of December, International Day of AIDS, TOXISIDA had several press activities to continue the debate on the cause of AIDS including a TV interview of myself. On December first, the periodical El TiempoI (the main Colombian Newspaper), had an article with an abstract of Dr Alfonso's book and on ours views of AIDS as a toxic and nutritional disease. The members of TOXISIDA are also editing a video with the videotapes they recorded during all my lectures and debates. TOXISIDA will also promote research and papers so that next year in our first international Conference in London, Washington, or Berkeley, Colombia can bring a good scientific contribution.

The president of TOXISIDA is Dr. Antonio Mendoza, MD. In the board of directors there are some other MDs, lawyer, economist, microbiologist, virologist, journalists and AIDS activists. Dr Alfonso and me are also members.

The address:

TOXISIDA:

Dr. Antonio Mendoza, Presidente

Centro Medico del Norte

Calle 70 # 48­55, Consultorio 409

Barranquilla, Colombia.

Phone (011575) 356 5818

7. I am happy to inform the group that most of the times our arguments for AIDS to be a toxic­nutritional syndrome were very well received by the Colombian medical and non­medical community. In Medellin, the Association of Infectious Diseases Doctors, wrote a long article in the local newspaper calling me irresponsible for promoting this debate and they told the public that "it has been scientifically proven that HIV is the cause of AIDS", without given any single argument.

8. BBC of London Interview.

On December third I had a telephone interview for a program for Spanish speaking countries. They asked three questions: a) Why HIV is not the cause of AIDS ?, b) What is the real cause of AIDS ?, and c) What are the Scientifical proofs for non infectious agents be the cause of AIDS ?. *

Roberto A. Giraldo, M.D. is an independent AIDS researcher living in Queens, New York.