Wanted: A Change of Heart

It’s been interesting to follow the issue of  funding the war against HIV in the American media from this side of the world. The most recent article I read in the New York Times (click here) left me feeling discouraged. 

For about ten minutes. Then, I felt outrage.

 I thought about this war on a micro-level. How David has said numerous times throughout this year how much he loves his job because he truly feels like he’s making a difference in a child’s life by offering and managing antiretroviral (ARV) medications; regimens that literally keep kids alive. 

At the micro-level, the successes are great, the gains obvious. And, while after reading this article the overall issue of funding the crusade  sounds hopeless, I’m here to tell you, hope is happening all around us. It’s happening in the start-up NGO by Tanzanians who recognize the stresses of HIV go far beyond the clinic exam room and that patients need help with food, transportation to and from medical appointments, and school fees. It’s happening in a widower who recognizes his son, who had been living with grandparents and stopped his ARVs  for one year, now needs to re-enter the system to stay alive. It’s happening in the HIV positive pregnant woman who got treated during pregnancy so as not to pass on the virus to her unborn child. It’s happening in a First Lady who travels the country expounding the benefits of HIV testing. And I may be biased on this last one, but it’s happening in the placement of doctors like David from all over the world, who give of their expertise, time, and compassion to serve this population. 

What about the fear and pessimism the NYTimes article describes?  ”Without a change of heart among donors, the whole hope I’ve had for the past 10 years will disappear,” says Michel Sidibe’, executive director of Unaids. His colleague concurs. “Now I’m afraid we’re at a tipping point in the wrong direction,” says Dr. Peter Pinot, previous director of Unaids.

Are we really at a point where donors are triaging which disease is the cheapest to fight? HIV is among us and not going away soon. People here are not giving up. If the world outside Africa needs a change of heart, spend a day in the clinic waiting room with the orphaned and widowed. Or go on a home visit to see the woman who is raising her dead sister’s six children. Maybe that will help.