Extent and Stigma of HIV/AIDs (08:24)

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus attacks white causing vulnerability to minor infections. HIV/AIDS has infected over 70 million people and killed nearly half; the virus is difficult to cure, but there are preventative medications. Chris van Tulleken and Lizzie Jordan educate the public about the risk of HIV/AIDS and the importance about getting tested.

HIV Testing (10:34)

Chris van Tulleken interviews people about HIV testing and observes stigma and fear, especially for men. Elton John and Caroline Bradbeer reflect on the early stage of the AIDS epidemic, when the prognosis was two years to live. People became hopeful when preventive treatments became available in the 1990s.

HIV Effects and Treatment (09:44)

Van Tulleken visits Michael, one of 6,000 people in the UK who have tested positive for HIV in one year. He is taking an antiretroviral drug, which blocks enzymes that HIV uses to attack immune cells. Addy did not get tested in time; she is recovering from brain damage at Mildmay Hospital, which rehabilitates patients suffering from HIV-related conditions.

Obstacles to Diagnosing HIV in South Africa (06:45)

HIV is rampant in South Africa, where 200,000 die each year and social norms inhibit preventive actions and testing. At Macabuzela clinic in Kwazulu Natal, van Tulleken discusses the scale of the epidemic and cultural factors with local women and nurses. Men do not want to use protection and fear going to the clinic to get tested; if they go at all it is usually too late for treatment.

HIV Treatment and Social Stigma (07:51)

Van Tulleken speculates on why so many in South Africa are still dying of AIDS despite availability of testing and drugs. A campaign to bring diagnostic services to people’s homes has succeeded in diagnosing 92 percent of people with HIV, but as Deenan Pillay reports, only 47 percent went to the clinic for treatment, mainly due to social factors.

Preventive Drug (07:59)

HIV continues to affect people’s lives in the UK, necessitating a stronger preventive measure than condoms. In 2016, the National AIDS Trust won a case that allows funding of antiretroviral drugs that prevent contraction of HIV. Critics labeled PrEP a “lifestyle drug," but van Tulleken and Greg Towers argue that this misunderstands the disease and the role of health care.

Credits: The Truth About HIV (00:02)

Credits: The Truth About HIV