Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Windows - April 27, 2006
Laura Kiritsy, lkiritsy@baywindows.com
Simone says her use of such terse phrases is "half-facetious." But after 25 years of HIV/AIDS, says Simone, who has covered the epidemic since 1985, "I think those are really important lessons, and we're still learning them." Russia, where the government has been slow to respond to rapidly rising infection rates, Simone observes, "is still in denial, at their peril."
Simone will moderate a May 3 panel at the Wimberly Theatre in Boston that will bring together leading HIV/AIDS experts and screen clips from The Age of AIDS to set up discussion about the current state of AIDS treatment, the lessons of the past and the challenges for the future. The event is sponsored by WGBH's Frontline and Community Research Initiative of New England (CRI), a nonprofit dedicated to HIV clinical research, treatment education and financial assistance for approved drug treatments and health insurance coverage.
Simone says the panel will give folks the opportunity to ask questions of panelists like Dr. Jim Kim, the former director of the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS Department, and Dr. David Ho, who did pioneering work on the revolutionary AIDS combination therapy. She's also hopeful that screening portions of her film will serve to remind those feeling worn down by the battle against the disease why they enlisted in the first place. "Sometimes when you get into a room and you see a compelling piece of videotape, it's good for yourself and the people around you ... to say, 'Oh this is why I gave myself to this epidemic,'" says Simone.
The Age of AIDS, a four-hour series that airs on May 30 and 31, chronicles HIV/AIDS from its first gay victims in the early 80s through the denial and social stigma of the Reagan era, to the medical breakthroughs of the early 90s, the ongoing search for a cure and an examination of the epidemic's next wave in countries like Russia, India and China. And though there is no end in sight - Simone is particularly concerned about the rising rate of infections among women and girls around the globe - Simone strikes a hopeful note about the panel and the airing of The Age of AIDS. "AIDS has always been a preventable pandemic and we can help do that with public education," she says.
"All it takes is awareness."
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For more information or to reserve tickets contact Jessica Kadis at 617.778.5454, ext. 221 or jkadis@crine.org.
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