Nelson Mandela

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Nelson Mandela

• Cheririne Dy
• Danielle Keiri
• Amy Rippey
• Charles Zurawski

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Summary

• Janurary 6, 2005 Nelson Mandela announced
  publicly that his son, Makgatho Mandela, died of
  AIDS.
• At Makgathos funeral, his son Mandla announced
  that his mother (Makgathos wife) died of AIDS
  eighteen months before Makgatho.
• These two announcements from the Mandela family
  triggered an outpouring of sympathy in South
  Africa. It made AIDS more normal and less
  shameful.
• One of the biggest criticisms made of Nelson
  Mandela is that he did not do very much about
  AIDS when he was president of South Africa from
  1994-1999
• When he was in office S.A. became the most
  infected nation in the world.
• HIV infection rate grew from 8 to 25 during
  these years

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Summary

• In his defense, they did not make the extent of
  the problem evident.
• It progresses slowly from infection to illness.
• The first major deaths did not begin until 1997
• When Mandela started advocating for AIDS he
  didnt know that anyone in his family was
  infected.
• Makgatho kept his infection a secret from his
  father until 6 months before he died.
• The family debated about going public, they were
  concerned about the young children in their family

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Summary

• Kenneth Kaunda, the Zambian president, was first
  leader to admit that a family member had passed
  away due to AIDS. His son died in 1986.
• During this time it was easy to deny the presence
  of AIDS in their country.
• One reason the stigmata of AIDS endured was due
  to leadership.
• Kaunda, Buthelezi, Graca Machel , and Museveni
  were exceptions.
• Others at this time denied the presence of AIDS
• One reason he did not begin earlier was that he
  did not want to speak about it was that sex and
  everything related to sex is a private subject.
• In recent years he regrets not doing anything
  about it

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Summary

• When Mandela left office his focus was on the
  children
• He soon realized that AIDS needed to be focused
  on
• First he met with leaders
• He had the foundation put up money for a door to
  door survey about AIDS
• They wanted hard data on the presence of AIDS
• Results showed 30 of adults tested positive
• Spoke at the International AIDS Conference

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Summary

• In 2002 Mandela met with ANC leadership
• Pleaded with ANC to provide ARVs to pregnant
  women
• Mandela was heckled and the movement was appealed
• Mandelas foundation decided to provide ARVs
• Two pilot sites 1 rural area and 1 in Cape Town
• He brought celebrities such as Oprah to Africa to
  meet the orphans
• Met with Bill Clinton on to lower the cost of
  meds
• Formed 46664, a concert, to raise money and
  awareness of AIDS

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Summary

• After returning home from the concerts, Mandela
  found that AIDS fell off the agenda
• Political leaders dodged new funding comments
• Global fund could not meet pledges
• UN talked of a global AIDS funding shortfall
• Mandela aimed to reduce the stigmata
• Embraced HIV AIDS activists, visited clinics,
  addressed people with AIDS in every speech
• Mandela and his wife are still AIDS activists and
  determined to make a difference

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Why is Mandela in this book?

• Mandela was the first freely elected President of
  South Africa after the end of Apartheid.
• He served as President from May 1994 to June
  1999.
• His son, Makgatho Mandela died of HIV/AIDS on
  January 6, 2005
• On the day of his sons death, Mandela spoke in
  front of the media and told them his son died of
  HIV/AIDS.
• Mandelas own family expressed reservations about
  him coming out about this, they felt his
  grandchildren would be shunned in school.

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Why is Mandela in this book?

• Was significant because until then, HIV was not
  spoken about much publicly and the government,
  even Mandela when he held office, did not admit
  there was a pandemic. He now has shown regrets
  about not doing more while in office to prevent
  the spread of HIV/AIDS.
• Mandela was determined to use as much of his
  political influence post-presidency as he could
  to combat the disease.
• Mandela speaking about his son in public showed
  that HIV/AIDS was not just a disease of poor and
  uneducated, it can effect anybody.
• In the year 2005, 800 people a day died of
  HIV/AIDS in South Africa and 6 million more are
  living with AIDS. Mandela felt he must do
  something.

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Why is Mandela in This book?

• Mandela and his wife, Graca are trying to change
  the culture by talking more openly about sex,
  supplying retroviral drugs and educating the
  people of South Africa.
• Mandelas successor, Thabo Mbeki did not want to
  admit there is a problem in South Africa.
  Mandela did not want to show up the new
  government, but felt he needed to still do
  something.
• In 2000 at the National AIDS conference in
  Durban, Mandela eventually spoke out that the new
  government should be doing more as should all
  governments.

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Why is Mandela in this book?

• Mandela spoke out against the government in 2002
  again when he said, When the top person is
  committed, the response is much more effective.
• Mandela has since continued to bring HIV/AIDS in
  South Africa to the attention of the world. He
  and his wife Graca are trying to do everything
  they can within their power to combat HIV/AIDS.

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What does this add to our Understanding?

• AIDS does not choose and it affects all
• Families of rich African leaders die of AIDS
• not just the poor
• Very young people die of AIDS
• Biggest challenge the African nation faces
• AIDS is one of the leading reasons why children
  become orphans in South Africa

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What does this add to our Understanding?

• Many die from not having access to treatment or
  most likely not being able to afford it, or
  because they live in a country too poor to
  provide basic health care
• At least 26 million have died of AIDS 95 of
  them in the developing world
• 45 million have HIV
• AIDS brings shame to the victims families,
  knowing it is sexually transmitted

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Related Readings

• BLOOD OF GANSBAAI
• DELIAS RACE
• CONFETTI
• LOVE THAT KILLS

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Related Readings

• All of these stories relate to each other in
  that they all fail to acknowledge the problem out
  of fear, shame , or denial because to acknowledge
  the disease is to make it real.

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