Quackbase!

Claim number: 36

Claimant: Abha Light

Claim date: May 2, 2011

Forum in which the claim was made: Website

Claim methodology: Homeopathy

Frequency with which the claim is made by this claimant: Frequent

Actual claim: Treats AIDS

Plausibility of this claim: Untested and implausible

Summary

Abha Light claims to treat HIV and Elephantiasis in Nairobi, Kenya, using homeopathic remedies.

Description

Abha Light runs a chain of clinics in Kenya. They treat people with homeopathic remedies. An article on their website claims that they are successfully treating people with HIV with homeopathic and natural medicines.

The Kenyan newspaper, The Standard, reveals "Investigations by The Standard On Sunday revealed that a practitioner working for Abha Light Foundation, the NGO that runs a chain of clinics in Kenya, suggested to one patient that they may not need to take Anti-Retro Viral (ARV) drugs once they had started on a course of homeopathic medicines."

The report continues, "And findings by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in the UK, a partner in the investigations, revealed that in the past five years, Abha Light Foundation has received thousands of pounds from UK donors and the Global Fund, the multi-national foundation for HIV, malaria and TB, which is partly funded by Bill Gates, to run its programmes."

This is very concerning. There is no evidence that homeopathy's benefits extend beyond placebo. It is unlikely that the Gates Foundation and the Global Fund would purposefully fund a homeopathic treatment centre. Nevertheless, they should investigate the possibility that this has inadvertantly happened.