AIDS Activists Part 1
Some of the many dedicated individuals fighting the AIDS spread
A short list of activists making a difference in curbing the spread of AIDS.
The plight of the millions of people suffering from AIDS has not always been on the world’s radar. It is only because of the tireless work of dedicated individuals that change is happening.
Following is brief smattering of some of these activists and the work that they have accomplished:
Zachie (Adurrazack) Achmat
As cofounder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Achmat has played a pivotal role in bringing medicines to HIV-positive people in South Africa. TAC’s success is due in no small part to Achmat’s leadership, charisma, and experiences as an anti-apartheid activist.
TAC first successfully took on the South African government for their failure to provide prevention for mother-to-child transmission. TAC then supported the South African government when they were sued by multinational pharmaceutical companies for using generic drugs. As well, TAC played a highly visible role in dispelling the stigma of AIDS with their “HIV positive” t-shirts modeled after the Danish king who wore the yellow star under Nazi occupation.
Achmat is famously known for refusing to take antiretroviral drugs, despite the urging of Nelson Mandela, until all HIV-positive South Africans had access to them. He only began his drug regiment when a national meeting of TAC activists voted in favour of Achmat taking his medications.
Ruby Yang
Yang is a documentary filmmaker best known for her Oscar-winning documentary “Blood of Yingzhou District”. This film follows the children in the province of Anhui who have been orphaned by AIDS. Because of unsafe practices, many people in this poor province contracted AIDS when giving blood. They left behind children, many infected themselves, who are ostracized by not only their communities, but their families as well.
“Blood of Yingzhou District” was part of Yang’s work with the China AIDS Media project. Yang hopes that the documentary will help to dispel misinformation about AIDS in China and to reduce the stigma faced by these AIDS orphans.
