Program Overview

• Hosts: Ray Suarez
• Length: 51 minutes
• Original Airdate: Jan 2010

AIDS has been a viral wrecking ball across Africa, and much of the globe for that matter. More than 25 million have died from the disease, but the international community’s bedside manner is getting better. NGOs, nations and international organizations are building up a global resistance to the deadly virus. They’ve succeeding in treating millions already infected with HIV, but stemming the spread is a much tougher case. And with the doctor’s orders often running up against religious convictions and traditional customs, prescribing a potent prevention protocol is a complicated operation.

Segment 1: Ray Suarez explores the AIDS epidemic in Washington DC, the city with the highest HIV infection rate in the nation. Guests include Dr. Shannon Hader, Director of DC’s HIV/AIDS Administration and Dr. Ray Martins, Chief Medical Officer at the Whitman Walker Clinic in DC. Listen to this segment.

Segment 2: Ray Suarez investigates the state of the AIDS crisis in South Africa, where years of government inaction and the scars of apartheid have fueled the epidemic. Guests include Dr. Brian Brink, of the Anglo American Mining Group; Barbara Hogan, former South African Health Minister; Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa; and Dr. Helen Rees, a leading AIDS expert. Listen to this segment.

Segment 3: Matt Ozug travels to Brazil, a country that has implemented effective and controversial strategies to reduce the spread of the disease.  Guests include Dr. Chris Beyrer of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Pedro Chequer, founder of Brazil’s National AIDS Program; Father Luis Lima, of the Catholic University of Rio; and Dr. Mariangela Simao, head of the National AIDS Campaign at the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Listen to this segment.

Segment 4: Ray Suarez examines the Bush Administration’s unprecedented Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that has provided life-saving treatment for over two million Africans, but has been less successful in preventing new infections. Guests include Warren Buckingham, Country Coordinator for PEPFAR in Kenya; Dr. Mark Dybul, former US Global AIDS Coordinator; and Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, Director of the Joint Clinical Research Center in Kampala, Uganda. Listen to this segment.

Segment 5: America Abroad's Sean Carberry speaks with Dr. Nandini Oomman, director of the HIV/AIDS Monitor at the Center for Global Development, about the future of PEPFAR under the Obama Administration, and the challenges of developing global strategies for AIDS prevention. (Extended Web version). Listen to this segment.

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AIDS: The Politics of Prevention / Executive Producer: Aaron Lobel / AAM Producers: Monica Bushman, Sean Carberry, Matt Ozug, Monica Villavicencio and Chris Williams / Interns: Colleen Castle, Isabella Schwiermann and Annika Witzel / Photo credit: World Concern.