Two Powerful Videos to Screen for World AIDS Day
It is estimated that 35.4 million people have died from AIDS-related illness since the start of the epidemic. And it’s now widely acknowledged within the global scientific and health communities that most of these deaths were preventable.
This startling reality demonstrates just how vital it is to continue raising awareness and resources to help fight AIDS, and points to the continuing importance of World AIDS Day.
According to the National Aids Trust, World AIDS Day is observed annually on Dec. 1 to provide “an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.” At the same time, World AIDS Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on how best to overcome the powerful interests and cultural forces that continue to exacerbate this epidemic.
With that in mind, we urge you and your students to revisit our videos Fire in the Blood and Protection. You can watch the trailers for these two films and read more about them below.
FIRE IN THE BLOOD
A Tale of Medicine, Monopoly & Malice
Fire in the Blood tells the shocking story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs in Africa and the global south in the 1990s, leading to the preventable deaths of at least ten million people. Shot on four continents and featuring contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, and Joseph Stiglitz, the film takes us inside the lethal decision-making process that led to this humanitarian catastrophe. It also shows how millions more people would have died if not for the passion and tactical ingenuity of a group of courageous and relentless activists. The result is a gripping look at corporate greed and government collusion, the cutthroat economics of medicine and healthcare, and the power of ordinary people to make meaningful change on a global scale.
PROTECTION
Masculinity & Condom Use in Sub-Saharan Africa
HIV/AIDS has ravaged entire populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet educational efforts to prevent the acceleration of the epidemic continue to clash with traditional cultural attitudes that view protected sex as unmanly. Protection provides a fascinating look at the origins of these attitudes, and examines how they are being kept alive by a set of hyper masculine myths that extol risk-taking as an emblem of strength, virility, and potency. An eye-opening exploration of what it will take to make real and transformative change and eradicate HIV/AIDS once and for all.
