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Taking Leadership!

Johanna French, MCC staff and former SALT participant
August 15, 2006

It’s Double Bill Time. Not a double-double coffee bill charge on your Tim Horton’s double-double, which I seem to be enjoying every morning now that I am back in Canada. What I mean to say is, it’s time for the double Bills: Bill Gates and Bill Clinton. Clinton still has the gift of captivating an audience. He gave a great speech today. Great--because his foundation is doing wonderful things. Both he and the other Bill had a broadcast discussion on Monday, and then today, Tuesday afternoon, Bill Clinton spoke again. (I have to add he was preceded by the infamous Barry White-well, he didn’t look like THE Barry White, but that was his name-“put your hands together!” and that the entire audience sang Happy Birthday to Clinton at the end of his speech).

Clinton addressed some of what is going on in the world of universal access to ARV treatment. Four years ago, only 7,000 people living with HIV were getting the medicine they needed. Today, there are 1.3 million people receiving ARVs. The Clinton Foundation has helped to reduce the costs of the needed first line ARVs and helped to make them much more accessible in the developing world and the countries which have been hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. The Foundation works with generic drug companies, combining efforts with donor nations to buy and provide these medications which have been so unaffordable in places where they were desperately needed. The disparity of access to these drugs between countries in the North and South, was, and still is to some extent (although things are getting better), horrendous. Now Clinton is hoping to increase access to second line ARVs (drugs taken after the first line regimen begins to fail) and to support the production and research of pediatric formulations that would be easier to take for children living with HIV.

Still, there are other barriers which are very apparent! Think about this: There are around 40 million people who are living with HIV in the world today (Think about that-almost the same population of Kenya or Canada!), and what is absolutely terrifying is that 90% of people who have HIV do not even know it! This is one of the reasons why millions of new people are getting infected (5 million new infections every year, and 50% of these new infections are among youth 15-30 years old).

Clinton stated that there was a need to increase funding for all HIV/AIDS related efforts, including important research work; but prevention efforts including stigma reduction—for stigma is one of the drivers that discourages people from knowing their HIV status—also need to be scaled up. Prevention and treatment programs need to be intertwined in a combined combating effort, for they are both a proven necessity and together represent a truly universal mutual-dependent strategy.

"We can’t reverse the epidemic of AIDS if people don’t know their status," said Clinton. This epidemic is preventable, and yet we still need to fight discrimination and increase treatment options for all people living with HIV, as well as support universal voluntary, counseling and testing options.

People who are living with HIV need to be empowered to also be the leaders and heroes in fighting this disease. They are the best educators and motivators. People who are living with HIV are the most courageous spokespeople and the backbone to any good prevention/health program. Their involvement is crucial in the fight against HIV/AIDS. And they need the continual support of churches and communities. Clinton talked about the story of a family in India who tried to commit suicide because they were all HIV positive and their community stigmatized and discriminated against them to such an extent that they no longer wanted to live! Can you imagine this! That out of our own human ignorance, we, people, can be so clueless and cruel to our brothers and sisters! More needs to be done to reach marginalized groups, particularly those living in rural areas (80 percent of the African continent) and children.

Clinton also stated that more studies have shown that people in rural areas connected to a hospital or clinic dispensing ARVs actually adhere better to the medication than their urban buddies. And this “should drive a nail into the coffin of those who continue to patronize the poor!” were his exact words!

Leadership from all sectors of society—from communities to national/international leaders—is needed to take steps to address and reduce stigma. Health workers also need better support and training in HIV/AIDS related care. Better health infrastructure is also needed to make ARVs more accessible. The international community needs to assist in helping to fund health care workers to stay and work in the countries that need their presence and medical know-how. I think Sarah Adams wrote a great explanation of the Human Resource question and the problem of "poaching."

Clinton also addressed the Empowerment and Leadership of Women as another Huge Prevention and Treatment necessity if the international community will ever make significant progress in reducing the rates of HIV/AIDS. When looking at development issues, combating HIV/AIDS through gender empowerment programs will increase the sustainability of healthy international and community development itself.

Alright, so those are some thoughts from Bill to chew on!

It was an inspirational speech for he didn’t leave out the ability, passion, hope and dreams of those in the struggle of HIV/AIDS. Every person at the conference (20,000 people) could represent 1500 people living with HIV. We must all continue to struggle for justice, accountability, advocacy and involvement in these issues---for there is so much beauty, intelligence, effort and dreams of people living with or living without HIV, and an emerging picture of life---that can lift up others and “break the back of AIDS. The obligations and the opportunities to fulfill them are gifts from God. The burden of AIDS is a gift, and we live in a time when we have the opportunity to meet obligations and give back the lives and dreams of those who deserve it in all dignity and respect!”—the final words in Clinton’s speech. Let us give all that we can give, brothers and sisters!