A look at Stephen Lewis and Meena Seshu.
The continuation of a brief overview of AIDS activists:
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis has used his forthright, compelling manner of speaking to bring further attention to the AIDS situation in Africa. In his position as the Secretary General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa to the United Nations, Lewis has the opportunity to see first-hand the problems that exist not only in Africa, but with the governments and the NGO’s who are involved. More importantly, Lewis has not hesitated to share his insights with the world through his Massey lectures which were published in his book, Race Against Time. Lewis has been especially persuasive in convincing governments, organizations, and individuals that they do need to play a role in alleviating the AIDS crisis in Africa. Lewis has expanded his efforts by establishing the Stephen Lewis Foundation which raises money to support grassroots initiatives and charities in Africa. A special emphasis is placed on the women and children impacted by AIDS.
Meena Seshu
As the founder and director of SANGRAM, Meena Seshu has been an integral factor in empowering sex trade workers in Southern India to negotiate condom use with their clients. As most of these women have access to few resources and are mainly of the lower caste, this progress is unprecedented. Despite personal attacks on herself by both the police and local authorities, and accusations that she is using the cover of AIDS to promote brothels, Seshu has been unyielding in her work. Seshu often speaks publicly of how AIDS is, in essence, a human rights issue which unduly burdens women. By disseminating information on AIDS and condoms, Seshu has been able to impact the spread of AIDS in the Maharashtra State, which has the highest rate of HIV infection in India. Seshu has been honored for her work by Human Rights Watch which named her a Human Rights Defender in 2002.
