In March 1987, the Panos Institute held a meeting in Talloires, France, bringing together leaders of development assistance agencies with the object of persuading them to take HIV/AIDS more seriously. When they arrived, most of them saw HIV/AIDS as just another health problem: a headline-grabbing disease which seemed to be spreading fast in parts of Africa and the Caribbean. By the time they left, most were convinced that HIV/AIDS had the potential to threaten many of the achievements of Third World development.
Coming soon - Under construction! In the words of Dr Jonathan Mann, founder of the World Health Organization's Global Programme on AIDS*, AIDS has involved not one but three successive global epidemics. The third epidemic, the subject of this book, is unlike the first two in that it is a social rather than a medical infection: the denial, blame, stigmatisation, prejudice and discrimination which the fear of AIDS brings out in individuals and societies.
In 1989, the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) first used the phrase "triple jeopardy" to describe the dangers women face as individuals, mothers and carers in the face of the AIDS pandemic. The founding of SWAA the previous year was part of a growing international awareness of the increasing threat of HIV to women and the importance of women-centred HIV prevention and care programmes.
A wave of prejudice and blame is following the worldwide AIDS epidemic. Blaming Others, drawing on scores of authors and experts, examines the most controversial aspects of AIDS.
The first major change in the AIDS situation since late 1986 has been the insidious entry of HIV to virtually every corner of the globe. Then, the first edition of this dossier concentrated heavily on Africa, because little data was available from other parts of the Third World.
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.