Produced by Liz Garbus
Hosted by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis
Produced for the White House Office of National AIDS Policy
EPIDEMIC AFRICA was filmed in 1999 as part of the White House Office on National AIDS Policy's delegation to several sub-Saharan African nations. The film captures the devastating toll that HIV/AIDS is taking on the residents of the region, particularly its children.
Of the more than 34 million people worldwide currently living with HIV, two-thirds are residents of sub-Saharan nations, and approximately 1.7 million young people in Africa are infected with HIV every year. This tragedy is exacerbated by the fact that most of the countries in the region are unable to provide the resources necessary to adequately treat and support existing AIDS victims, or to prevent its further spread. USAID projects that by the year 2010, up to 40 million children will have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
Many family members are forced to sit by as loved ones die because they were unable to obtain existing medications, readily available in America and Europe, which dramatically increase life expectancy and quality of life for HIV/AIDS patients. EPIDEMIC AFRICA encourages support for programs which are designed to help people cope with AIDS in their family and community. These programs provide people coping with HIV/AIDS with medical treatment, as well as the vital psychological and emotional support that enables them to continue feeling a productive part of their family and community.
Screened at the United Nations on World AIDS Day, EPIDEMIC AFRICA was also shown before an audience on Capitol Hill that included Archbishop Desmond Tutu as well as 45 Senators (including Senators Kennedy, Dodd, Hatch, Kerry, Helmes, and Leahy). After the screening, Senator Leahy announced that the film had spurred him to add an additional $25,000,000 to the 1999 budget for AIDS support in Africa (a total of $100,000,000 was ultimately committed to fight AIDS in Africa).
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