AIDS a 'critical social issue' included in South African scholar's speech Monday
Millions of South Africans have to live with the HIV/AIDS pandemic every day.
However, the solution to this problem reaches far beyond South Africa.
The issue of HIV/AIDS and other diseases is a problem for the global community, said Mandisa Mbali, a Yale postdoctoral associate.
Mbali said everyone has a role in making sure quality affordable healthcare is available.
“Nationality is an accident of birth,” she said. “We’re all human beings.”
Mbali spoke on several issues involving global health before a crowd of about 65 students and faculty Monday night in the Education and Human Services Building’s French Auditorium.
She said affordable treatment, increased medical personnel and a heightened political push, will help contain the epidemic. Mbali is a South African Rhodes Scholar who has published many scholarly articles focusing on South African AIDS activism. She has seen the effects of the disease within her own family.
One of Mbali’s relatives is living with AIDS, and another died from the disease and left behind two children.
“It’s a critical social issue we’re talking about,” she said. “It’s about intellectual partnership, social partnership and cultural exchange.”
Mbali said countries also need to improve the work environment for physicians.
In countries such as Malawi, the ratio of doctors for patients is one to 60,000, Mbali said.
“Our government needs to pay health workers more,” she said. “They need to make sure drugs are in the pharmacy.”
Throughout her presentation, Mbali showed clips of the film “Patient Abuse,” available on YouTube.
Greenville sophomore Molly Martin said she attended the speech to raise her own awareness on the AIDS/HIV issue.
She said it is something that affects people of all nationalities.
“There are students out there who have HIV/AIDS,” Martin said. “It takes a group to help them.”
