If Haiti were HIV

It is most certainly a humanitarian crisis. Thousands dead. An impoverished nation battling to deal with the human carnage left behind. An inadequate health system to provide the care they need. A nation shaken to its core.

But here I don’t speak about Haiti. Here I speak about us. South Africa has been shaken to its very core by the HIV virus. It has left thousands dead, in fact every day thousands die. The number of dead makes it difficult for cemeteries to find place. The health system does not provide enough care, it cannot provide enough care because it is poorly financed and poorly managed.

Yet somehow the crisis of this crisis has been muffled. The fear and incapacity to help has not appeared in hundreds of photos on the news because there is simply not space. The fact that through government inaction, denialism and lack of funding we are losing creators, musicians, workers, lovers and friends has been silenced because talking about it seems too difficult.

Enough though. I ask now for the spending that is going to Haiti to be mirrored by spending going into HIV research and palliative care in our nation and in other nations affected by HIV. You may not be infected, but you are affected by this virus and it is time to wake up and realise that you should be doing more.