In South Africa right now, one in three pregnant women are HIV positive. I’ve been an HIV/AIDS campaigner for almost a decade. Over the years I’ve travelled to African countries like Malawi, Uganda and South Africa, where I’ve personally witnessed the devastation of AIDS. I’ve visited clinics – hospitals – orphanages and people in their homes, in rural areas and urban townships. I’ve seen young women and mothers dying in their prime, leaving their children to fend precariously for themselves, with entire generations and communities wiped out. As a woman – a mother, and human being, I find this intolerable and profoundly unacceptable, especially because it doesn’t have to be this way.
My husband, Dr Mitch Besser and I will be presenting a talk on the subject as to whether the battle against HIV/AIDS can be won, on Monday at the Aspen Ideas Festival.