Dr. Roberto Giraldo, an American physician who addressed a Southern African Development Community (SADC) claimed that malnutrition was one of the key factors that was at the centre of the AIDS menace. His website (www.robertogiraldo.com) says, "Aids is neither an infectious disease nor is sexually transmitted. It is a toxic-nutritional syndrome caused by the alarming worldwide increment of immunological stressor agents."
Giraldo emphasized throughout his speech that there were similarities between AIDS and the symptoms of malnutrition and long-known tropical diseases. He added that adequate vitamin intake was necessary in curbing AIDS, as HIV-positive gay men with adequate vitamin A intake "never progressed to AIDS", while those with a vitamin A deficiency did get AIDS.Dr. MH Gotink of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), who addressed the gathering after Dr. Giraldo, while agreeing about the importance of vitamin intake and sharing Dr. Giraldo's views on the importance of breast feeding, however, said that orthodox medicine is not a religion and does not believe but has concluded that there is a link between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and the onset of AIDS and ultimately, death. He also added that a part of the scientific debate is based on the fact that different researchers could reach different conclusions from the same data.
