28: Stories of AIDS in Africa

Today is World AIDS Day. Sadly, the West couldn't get it together to really help millions of people with AIDS in Africa during the good times. And now with tough times upon the wealthy nations you can bet that help will get shunted to the back of the line. But it shouldn't. Canadians like Stephen Lewis and Globe & Mail Africa correspondent Stephanie Nolen continue to raise the alarm and tell us the things we can and should be doing.

Nolen made a huge impact with her Globe stories about Stephen Lewis, then the United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. She told of the heartbreaking stories of the people Lewis was meeting every day in Africa and his heroic attempt to bring attention to their plight. Lewis spoke about his experiences and AIDS in the 2005 Massey Lectures, which were published as his book, Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa. Lewis now runs the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which funds local, small-scale AIDS projects in Africa.

Nolen has moved permanently to Africa, living now in Johannesburg, South Africa with her husband and child. 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa (2007) is her Governor General's Award-nominated book about AIDS, with 28 stories from 28 people, each representing a million people with AIDS in Africa.