On the 25th anniversary of the first confirmed case of AIDS, FRONTLINE investigates one of the world’s worst known epidemics of the AIDS era. After a quarter century of political denial and social stigma, impressive scientific breakthroughs, fierce political battles and inadequate prevention campaigns, HIV/AIDS continues to spread rapidly in much of the world, especially in developing Chinese home. To date, approximately 30 million people worldwide have died from AIDS.
“This is a very human virus, a very human epidemic. It touches the very core of our existence,” said Dr. UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot. “When you think about, say, in 25 years, about 70 million people have been infected with this virus, probably due to [spreading] … it’s overwhelming.”
The crisis continues: an estimated 40 million more people will be infected with HIV within the next decade. “If a patient is infected, we can’t continue to treat them,” said Dr. David Ho, AIDS researcher and Time magazine’s 1996 Person of the Year for his work on life-extending “triple cocktail” treatments. “The real solution to this epidemic is to contain the spread of the virus.”
Why humans have failed to stop the spread of HIV is the central question of the AIDS era. In four hours, the series explores one of the most important scientific and political stories of our time: the story of a mysterious agent who invades humanity and exploits its weaknesses and obsessions – sexuality and drug addiction, paranoia and greed, political apathy And bureaucratic laziness – spread across the globe.
Filmed in 19 countries around the world, Age of AIDS interviews key players in the fight against HIV/AIDS: scientists, including Dr. Jim Curran of Emory University and Dr. Anthony of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Fauci; politicians, including former President Bill Clinton, U2 frontman and AIDS activist Bono, and evangelist Franklin Graham; and innovative activists, including Cleve Jones, creator of AIDS Quilt; Noerine Kaleeba, Africa’s first AIDS charity and Mechai Viravaidya, Thailand’s “Condom King”.
