Documentary looks at Aids body’s success
FOR some, the fight against HIV/Aids is a one-day event and only receives attention on World Aids Day.
And even when the spotlight is shone on the epidemic which has killed millions of people around the world, the commemoration speeches are sometimes filled with rhetoric and no tangible action.
But that has not been the case for the Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which has for 30 years been fighting the disease.
And now to mark its 30th anniversary milestone, AHF, the biggest non-profit organisation in the world dedicated to educating people and fighting HIV/Aids, will have screenings of some of the work done in the three decades.AHF South Africa is proud to have been an important part of the AHF story . . .
The one-hour reception and screening documentary – Keeping the Promise – AHF 30 Years – will be screened in East London, Johannesburg and Durban this month.
The documentary will look back at some of the work AHF has done since its formation in 1987 and also offer a glimpse of its future plans.
With operations in 38 countries around the world, AHF, which is the biggest Aids organisation in the world, has 821000 patients and employs 5600 people.
At the recent premier of Keeping the Promise – AHF 30 Years in Hollywood, USA, in October, founder and president Michael Weinstein thanked all those who have played their part in the organisation since 1987.
“Everything that we have accomplished is because of your dedication. AHF stands as the living proof that the world can be changed for the better if you are willing to work hard and dedicate yourself to a mission. I really wish Chris Brownlie, my dear friend and co-founder of AHF, could be alive today to see what his voice inspired.
“While we celebrate this milestone, we recognise that there is still so much more work to be done before we defeat Aids once and for all,” Weinstein said.
AHF South Africa Country Programme director Hilary Thulare said when the organisation opened the Umlazi Clinic in Durban in 2002, its first facility outside the US, “during the time of Aids denialism and desperation”, it committed to eradicate the disease through cutting- edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of the ability to pay.
“AHF South Africa is proud to have been an important part of the AHF story and with more than 100000 patients in care, we ain’t done yet,” she vowed.