The Independent has announced a powerful programme of editorial, film, events and advocacy in the run up to this year’s World AIDS Day on 1 December.
The aim is to ensure the UK and other governments protect the remaining funding for HIV/AIDS response programmes, whilst raising public awareness with a message of hope and action.
Leading The Independent’s coverage is an eight-month investigation and documentary, including powerful reporting from across Uganda, Zimbabwe and Senegal which reveals first-hand the deadly consequences of the abrupt collapse of USAID and anticipated UK and other foreign funding cuts. The film, Death Sentence, by Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew, paints a searing picture of the human cost. With no safety nets, and no time to secure alternative support, HIV patients are dying after losing access to medication, mothers are unable to prevent transmission to their unborn babies, and medics are forced to work for free with shrinking supplies.
This hard-hitting reportage, combined with exclusive data modelling, runs alongside a special project led by Global Health Correspondent Rachel Schraer, entitled Rethinking Global Aid, investigating the wider impact of sudden foreign aid spending cuts on Africa and other parts of the developing world.
The world was on track to end the global HIV/AIDS pandemic by 2030. Now, exclusive data modelling shows that in the same time frame, if current funding programmes are dismantled, millions could die worldwide, infections are set to reach levels not seen since the height of the crisis 25-years-ago, and medication-resistant strains could more than double, with devastating consequences.
Ahead of World AIDS Day, The Independent is calling on people to sign a petition urging the government to protect the UK’s remaining funding for HIV treatment, prevention and care.
Screening at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
On 30 November, The Independent is hosting a special screening of Death Sentence with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). Following the screening, Christine Stegling, Deputy Director of UNAIDS, and Lord Chris Smith, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and former Secretary of State and Patrick Kinemo, Country Director of MSI Tanzania, will join a panel conversation hosted by Bel Trew to discuss the impact of global aid cuts.
Bengi Ünsal, Director of the ICA, says: “We are proud to work with The Independent and its fearless investigative journalists to showcase this urgent documentary, Death Sentence. Supporting independent filmmaking is an essential part of the ICA’s mission, and at this pivotal moment in the fight to end the HIV crisis, we’re pleased to give a platform to this courageous and insightful film.”
