“Schnee von gestern” – “snow from yesterday” are yesterday’s news – so a German saying – and today we have moved on after World Aids Day. For 24 hours the pandemic which killed roughly 33 million since the beginning of the pandemic while 76 million have been infected in the same timeframe took somehow centre stage again.
In the times of Covid-19 with so far 1.5 million death such days of memento are somehow subdued, people are too busy with the current worldwide pandemic. So the day passed more quiet than normal due to restrictions – the usual suspects gave press statements and those in the field did their duty to remind the world, but even this felt half-hearted and at times decent to not get into competition with the headline creating Corona.
For me, World Aids Day was a day of reflection on how the AIDS pandemic would have played out, if not “only those gay people” would have been hit at the beginning but everybody.
What would have happened if President Ronald Reagan had put aside his misguided religious views and acted properly and in line with his duties to protect every citizen.
What would have happened if care, worry and empathy had prevailed and not the feeling by many that they called it on themselves with their appalling lifestyle.
How many lives would have been spared, how much suffering would have been avoided? Do we care to reflect and learn out of it?
Working in the field of HIV/AIDS more than 20 years I sometimes wonder how this country I live in would have evolved without the pandemic shattering the dreams and hopes of so many South Africans till this day.
Looking at Covid-19 in South Africa, there was this déjà vu – the same mechanisms kicked in – panic, fear, uncertainty in overdrive in the health sector, stigmatisation and it took time to settle down in the health sector and reason prevailed, and now, in current times, almost carelessness on the streets in the face of the second wave.
Of course, in this case, vaccines are in reach, even if we learned yesterday that the South African government is very late to secure those for the country and pay their dues in time. Being late was also the trademark of this government in times of HIV – so nothing new on this level.
And the question remains: Have we learned out of the AIDS pandemic enough to rise to the occasion?
Filed under: Africa, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, South Africa, Uncategorized, Aids, Corona, Covid-19, hiv, pandemic, Ronald Reagan, south africa, World AIDS Day
God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE 