We all have AIDS
There are no more boundaries. AIDS is everywhere and no single nation can stop the spread of the virus on its own, argues Wayne Ellwood.

HIV/AIDS: a primer

‘We are sick and suffering;
we want you to accept us.’
Home-grown solutions from Uganda. By Daniel Kalinaki.

A tale of two funerals
Zarina Geloo laments the passing of friends in Zambia.

Jon Spaull / Panos

Cocktails and carnival
Brazil vs Big Pharma. Matthew Flynn sets the scene.

HIV/AIDS: the facts

State of siege
Male violence and discrimination against women are central to HIV transmission, according to Shereen Usdin.

Russian roulette
Olivia Ward reports from Moscow on the link between poverty and AIDS in post-communist Russia.

Jörgen Hildebrandt / Panos Pictures

AIDS orphans
Children bereft by the hiv epidemic. A haunting photo essay from sub-Saharan Africa by Gideon Mendel.

HIV equity
Treating the poor in Haiti: if it can be done there, it can be done anywhere, argues Anne-Christine d’Adesky.

Aliens in Lucknow
Saleem Kidwai says gay AIDS educators in India face an uphill struggle.

Global AIDS action
Worldwide action and information.

John Maier / Still Pictures

AIDS no longer seems such a big deal to people in the industrialized world. Oh, sure, it’s still around – but now it’s the junkies, the homeless and the lumpen poor who are the problem, not the gays. And besides we’ve got those miracle meds now; it’s under control.

You’ve got to pity those poor Africans. But really what can we do?

A lot, as it turns out.

The HIV virus is about to explode in China and India, which together contain nearly half the world’s people. And it’s already got a foothold in Russia and Latin America. It’s a human disaster and it’s not going away.

Globalization will see to that: borders are permeable things. Infectious diseases like AIDS can’t be sealed off by geography. This is going to take an international campaign and HIV-positive people will have to be at the forefront of the fight for treatment, prevention and care.

People like Derek Thaczuk who works as a treatment resources co-ordinator at Toronto’s People with AIDS Foundation. Derek is HIV positive but for him the AIDS battle is far from over.

‘The notion that AIDS affects everybody may sound like spin-doctoring but for me it’s never been spin. When I first started doing AIDS work it was mostly gay men like me. But since then I’ve had to ask the question: “who are my people?” Is it just white, middle-class gay guys like myself or not? Well, let me tell you, the answer is “not”.’

Welcome to the real world of AIDS.

Wayne Ellwood
for the New Internationalist
Co-operative
waynee@newint.org