One of the most famous folk songs of the 1960s—“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” by Peter, Paul, and Mary—asked, “When will they ever learn?” Too many times these days, the answer feels like “never.”
The lessons of COVID rapidly are receding. Last month, countries around the world failed to reach consensus on the terms of a treaty that would unify them in a strategy against the inevitable next pandemic. Negotiations may continue, but agreement is unlikely despite the many millions of COVID-related deaths. An estimated 1.3 million people died in lower-income countries because of the inequitable distribution of vaccines.
People in rich countries have access to life-saving vaccines while the majority of the world's population goes unprotected. This is one of those instances where the moral imperative and the practical reality coincide. It just isn't feasible to fight a global pandemic by monopolizing access to life-saving vaccines and medications.
There was a moment in time when the Omicron variant of COVID hit where it really seemed that the global community could unite for mutual protection and survival. However, the pharmaceutical industry put enormous pressure on the governments of wealthy countries, and then Omicron passed. Now we are left with something that is actually less—enshrining the notion that rich countries only have to offer 10 percent of available stocks at discounted prices.
The public has forgotten that the deadliest pandemic since the 1918 flu pandemic is AIDS which has claimed more than 40 million lives. AIDS has been exponentially more deadly than COVID.
Quick reminder: AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). It primarily is transmitted through sex. Most other STDs such as syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea are treatable. Herpes is not curable but also not life-threatening.
However, we are playing with fire by ignoring that syphilis has spread like wildfire in the United States and around the world. While syphilis is treatable, preferably with Bicillin, that medication is in very short supply everywhere. The numbers of newborns being infected, being born disabled, or being stillborn are setting records even in wealthy countries like the U.S.
Aside from a few articles’ hand wringing about the increase, virtually nothing is being done to slow the spread. STD budgets at every level of government are stagnant or reduced. Social marketing is virtually nonexistent. Regular screening is hard to come by.
Meanwhile, gonorrhea is rapidly becoming resistant to all existing medications. And ocular syphilis is a new phenomenon also on the rise.
And yet, routine testing for sexually active people largely is inaccessible, as most people are not discussing their sex lives with their primary care providers. Those who rely on public health clinics often encounter long lines, shoddy service, and stigma.
Unfortunately, we are not treating STDs as dangerous contagious diseases that the population must be protected from contracting. We are treating them like the wages of sin. If you have sex, you must pay the price, or so the logic goes. But that mindset doesn’t slow the escalation of STD cases, nor does it bring countries together to find common-sense solutions to the problem.
Can we afford to mess with Mother Nature? Do we have to reach the point that certain STDs are untreatable or debilitating or deadly?
The lyrics of that 1960s folk song don't hold out much hope. However, an energized public health community and enlightened legislators have the ability to turn around our current predicament. Surely, prevention, testing, and prompt treatment will be far less costly to health, happiness, and expense than allowing a raging STD fire to burn across America and around the world.
Michael Weinstein is the president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world’s largest HIV/AIDS organization.
