This story begins 11 years ago. It was a time when many, if not most, experts said it was unthinkable to treat people with AIDS in developing countries using the triple-drug regimens that were routinely saving the lives of patients in wealthier countries.
“Many people in Africa have never seen a clock or a watch their entire lives,” said Andrew Natsios, then head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the nation’s foreign aid agency, explaining to a congressional committee why patients in the countries hardest hit by AIDS couldn’t be trusted to take their medication on time. “And if you say ‘1 o’clock in the afternoon,’ they do not know what you are talking about.”
But in fact, in places like Uganda and Haiti, some intrepid doctors were showing that the then-costly AIDS drug cocktails could save lives there, too. I met some of them.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
