Usually when I finish a book about HIV I feel inspired, impassioned, and excited to start working in the field. Honestly, when I finished Moving Mountains I just felt tired. D’Adesky even pulled out the big guns at the end, calling the current failure to reach all HIV infected people genocide, and naming the Bush Administration as one of the key culprits. She criticizes Bush (along with big corporations) for politicizing prevention efforts by creating his agenda (namely abstinence, lack of condoms) but also for using economic and trade deals to block generic drugs from reaching the places that need it the most.
On this point I agree with her. Bush has perhaps done much damage than good with his PEPFAR initiative, which has weakened the Global Fund, and created distracting turf wars in funded countries where U.S.-backed NGO’s compete with local government agencies for money as well as program direction. The damaging affects of his presidency will surely be felt for the next generation if not longer.
Bush perhaps says it best:
"Oftentimes people ask me, 'Why is it that you're so focused on helping the hungry and diseased in strange parts of the world?'" --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 18, 2008
Maybe he should stop "helping" these strange people then.
No comments:
Post a Comment