HIV/AIDS was seemingly the world’s most moving epidemic. With so many procrastinations, superstitions and politics, the realization of faster ways to handle the epidemic are slowed down as showed in the movie, ‘And The Band Played On’. Efforts by the CDC were significant but the management’s greed for credit led them to the discovery of the disease led to undesirable outcomes of professional misconduct.
Essentially, the early war against HIV had its most apparent hindrance as the fact that it had a relatively long incubation period. However, many other inhibitors came forth slowing the medics understanding and research of the virus. This included the ignorance that was showed by the authorities such as the increment of funds in the defence ministry and neglecting the health sector as well as corruption in cases where reportedly released millions of funds for the R&D with only 750,000 being utilized on HIV research. Also, as revealed in the movie, the epidemiologists were forced to research with no funding that could have been significant in the purchasing of equipment and with limited space ("And The Band Played On 1993", 2017). It was rather demoralizing when gay rights activists fought their efforts to contain further spread of the virus ignoring the fact that their rights cared not that they were more susceptible to the virus while in their bathhouses.
It is worth noting that stopping the virus could have taken the ultimate participation of all stakeholders. Though the incubation period remains a key inhibitor, the federal government’s participation would have impacted significantly on the rate of spread of the virus as well as faster R&D. Advocacy cases such as the gay rights by their activists were of insignificant value in combating the spread of the disease. However, the endorsement of the virus’ victims was of significant contribution in realizing the success in fighting the spread of the virus.
Today, it is uncommon to come across any individual without the insight of HIV/AIDS, whether young or old. Ever since it hit the headlines in the beginning of the 21 century, roughly every person is cautious of the ways in which the disease can be transmitted. Influenced by the increased rate of awareness and HIV/AIDS campaigns in the current world, the positive leave in peace, accepted by the society without any kinds of stigmatization. Essentially, Fauci, Folkers and Dieffenbach (2013) assert that the discovery of the Anti-retroviral drugs, the mortality rate has decreased by a month over the last one decade and scientists feel that they are nearing the discovery of the cure or even better, the vaccine to HIV/AIDS.
References
And The Band Played On 1993. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua5RrxvfVJU
Fauci, A. S., Folkers, G. K., & Dieffenbach, C. W. (2013). HIV-AIDS: much accomplished, much to do. Nature immunology, 14(11), 1104-1107.
