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The Invisible Cure Chapter Summary

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Anand Sundaram Professor George Bishop USE2307: HIV/AIDS – From Microbes to Nations 6th February, 2015 Book Review: The Invisible Cure by Helen Epstein Helen Epstein’s book “The Invisible Cure: Africa, The West and the Fight Against AIDS” is a powerful account of the AIDS epidemic that has hit hardest in Africa. Epstein is a scientist-turned-writer who merges 15 years of personal observations with scientific reasoning to explain the spread of HIV/AIDS in the continent. She explains why the battle against the disease has been so challenging in Africa in spite of the investment of large amounts of effort and money. Giving the example of Uganda, Epstein argues that the solution may not align with what the proverbial Western World envisions, and that it must come from the Africans themselves. Epstein begins by relating the first time she visited Uganda in …show more content…

Uganda has seen large amounts of foreign funding in recent years, and most of this funding is either directed towards promoting condoms through advertising campaigns or advocating abstinence through evangelicalism, with almost no reference being made to partner reduction. Epstein also expresses indignation at the fact that AIDS campaigns are morphing into business opportunities due to the inflow of money. While it might be true that international programmes having no local roots tend to look for one-dimensional silver bullets which might not actually work, a lot of the funding does benefit local community based AIDS initiatives. To judge foreign-aid funded efforts as ineffective simply on the basis of lack of significant decline seems harsh and unconvincing on Epstein’s part, especially when many factors could be at

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