LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization currently caring for over 612,000 patients in 36 countries, will celebrate 15 years of saving lives in South Africa with a special documentary screening on May 17th.
At the Arclight Hollywood Theater Tuesday night, AHF will present The People’s Hope, a documentary that recounts the establishment of AHF’s Ithembalabantu Clinic in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. The film explores the challenges faced by the clinic, which gave hope to thousands of South Africans affected by HIV/AIDS at a time when no treatment options were available in the country. AHF South Africa previously held the world premiere screening of the poignant documentary in Durban in April.
The film chronicles AHF’s battles with the South African government and pharmaceutical companies during its campaign to provide affordable HIV medicine to Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. Despite the challenges, AHF opened its Ithembalabantu Clinic (the Zulu word for “People’s Hope”) in Umlazi, Durban in 2001 at a time when the government withheld lifesaving anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs from its people due to its outspoken denial of HIV/AIDS.
AHF President Michael Weinstein recalls that activists petitioned his organization to act following the disappointing outcome of the 2000 bi-annual International AIDS Conference in Durban.
“When we went to the organizations that were treating people with AIDS, there was a sense of hopelessness because in the US we already had the treatment evolution,” said Weinstein. “It was very sad, and it made me angry because the government had essentially abandoned millions of people in South Africa.”
To attend to South Africa’s neglected HIV population, AHF converted an abandoned office into a clinic for 100 patients living with HIV and hired three people to run it. For many years, AHF was one of only three organizations offering anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs in KwaZulu-Natal.
“At the time, medication cost about $5,000 per person per year in Africa,” continued Weinstein. “We knew it would be difficult, but we set up a clinic for 100 people and demonstrated that it could be done.”
Ithembalabantu has since grown into a proud institution, recognized far beyond the township of Umlazi where it is located. Today, the Ithembalabantu clinic serves over 15,000 patients—including children born with HIV—who form a part of the 100,000 patients that AHF now treats in its 57 clinic sites throughout South Africa.
The documentary also celebrates the resilience of Ithembalabantu’s first patients, many of whom braved the alarmist warnings of the early 2000s about the potential toxicity of the ARV drugs. Many of these patients had nearly lost all hope when they arrived at the clinic, but their miraculous recovery inspired others to seek treatment early.
One of Ithembalabantu’s first patients was Jenny Boyce; a fifteen year-old girl born with HIV whose story is now a source of inspiration to many. Boyce said of her experience: “For a lot of us there was uncertainty. Medication wasn’t provided in the country, and there was a lot of talk about it being toxic and more detrimental than the disease. So we were coming to the clinic because [we] wanted to live.”
AHF has also been at the forefront of the global campaign for the reduction of prices for ARV drugs. As a result of grassroots efforts such as marches on the offices of AIDS drugs producers, ARV prices have been slashed to $100 per person per year.
South Africa has also made progress in addressing the AIDS epidemic since Ithembalabantu’s establishment in 2001. In 2010, AHF lauded South African President Jacob Zuma for leading a national effort to expand HIV testing and antiretroviral treatment. South Africa now has the largest antiretroviral treatment program in the world, with over 3 million people on treatment and 10 million tested for HIV every year. However, AHF believes more still needs to be done to end HIV/AIDS in 2030.
“We appreciate that the government wants to work with us, and has partnered with us,” said Terri Ford, Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy at AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “The South African government has stepped up more than any other government in the world. We want to continue our partnership so that we can stop HIV in South Africa, and the way to do that is to get as many people tested and on treatment.”
MEDIA NOTE: For inquiries about the May 17th Arclight Hollywood screening of The People’s Hope documentary, please contact:
Ged Kenslea
Senior Director, Communications
AIDS
Healthcare Foundation
+1.323.308.1833 work
+1.323.791.5526 mobile
gedk@aidshealth.org
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 612,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare
