And Miles To Go Before We Sleep

Susan Hunter '70 has devoted her life to studying the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

And Miles To Go Before We Sleep

Maria V. Caliri '86, M.B.A '92Photos By Nora Lewis

Every 25 seconds, an African contracts the HIV virus that will kill him or her within a decade. Every day, about 6,700 African families bury a loved one who has died of AIDS.

"My work in Africa over the past 10 years has been shaped by data like this," says Susan Hunter '70, who has devoted her life to studying the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. "What amazes me is the courage and determination with which people are responding to the hardships created by the epidemic."

Public health professionals now know how to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS by providing contraceptives, treating sexually transmitted diseases, and changing sexual behavior. Today blood is carefully screened to avoid transmission by transfusion. Mother to child transmission has been almost eradicated in developed countries. And antiretroviral drugs are allowing HIV/AIDS patients to live decades longer. "But our own moral commitment is required to see that all of these scientific advances are made available to citizens of countries that are too poor to provide adequate health care services," says Hunter.

The impact of HIV/AIDS is especially severe in Africa, where life expectancy in many sub-Saharan countries will drop to 40 years or less by 2010. As a result of this global pandemic, 44 million children in Africa and other developing nations will lose one or both parents during this same period.

Hunter earned a B.A. in History from URI followed by a Master's in Quantitative Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the State University of New York at Albany. She began her work in Africa in 1989 as a Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Research Fellow and lecturer at Makerere University in Uganda. Since then, she has worked on HIV/AIDS issues in 15 countries under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Children's Fund. She and her husband, Arlin Greene, lived in Africa for five years, 21/2 years each in Uganda and Tanzania.

Through Children on the Brink, the report that she co-authored on children imperiled by the AIDS pandemic in Africa (USAID 1997), Hunter helped to focus worldwide attention on the decimating effect of AIDS on whole populations. The update, Children on the Brink 2000, (available on www.synergyaids.com), and Hunter's Reshaping Societies: HIV/AIDS and Social Change (Hudson Run Press 2000; www.hudsonpress.com), outline approaches to addressing the problem.

Hunter cites the need for stepping up international aid, community-based services, and accessibility to testing and drug treatments. "Africans want to care for their own orphaned children, but many are living on less than $1 a day. Most Africans live in poverty so severe that Americans would never believe it," she says. "Many people I have worked with are lucky to have one change of clothes, and what they own is ripped and tattered. Nearly half of all children are malnourished, and many must forgo eating for days because they have no money. Worst of all, many are so poor that they cannot afford seeds and fertilizer to grow the food they need, so they stay constantly in debt."

UNAIDS estimates that $7 billion to $10 billion are needed annually to effectively respond to HIV/AIDS. In May, the United States contributed $200 million to a global HIV/AIDS health fund and is now considering adding an additional $1.3 billion. "The irony is that our contribution, as large as it is, is paltry when compared to other countries when measured on a per capita basis. However, I'm grateful that many or our senators and representatives are upping our commitment. Any amount of money can do a lot of good if invested properly."

"For example, I'm on the board of the Foundation for Hospices in sub-Saharan Africa, which was started by a small group of hospice workers in New York. We partner with hospices in Africa, and our first $7,000 contribution birthed a community outreach program in Durban, South Africa, that was adopted as a national model for assistance to persons living with AIDS."

With assistance from developed countries, Africans can develop the infrastructure that supports income-generating businesses. Small donations can support successful prevention programs. "Young people, even street children, respond well to AIDS education programs because they are less set in their ways and more accepting of new ideas," says Hunter.

"Programs that strengthen the ability of communities to care for the sick and for orphans are also part of the solution. Long before they had outside assistance, Africans developed home visits to the sick, group homes, and village gardens. And they organized youth groups that use drama to spread the work about AIDS.

"Africans want to solve this problem. They want to keep their children and raise them in their own countries. Children want to stay together and help raise each other. Given the trauma they experience, they are each other's strongest support network. Fortunately, community groups are supervising children without living relatives who have to live on their own."

The greatest hope for the millions of infected are the drug treatments known to extend the lives of AIDS patients. While multinational drug companies in the United States usually price their products out of the reach of impoverished Africans, they are beginning to lower the costs significantly in response to foreign competition. "Cipla, a drug company in India, produces the essential drugs for one-thirtieth of the U.S. cost," says Hunter.

Hunter works tirelessly to help African governments raise awareness and ameliorate suffering. She describes herself as "rich" from her experiences. "I am fortunate to work with wonderful people who are committed to change the course of this pandemic and the impact of HIV/AIDS," she says. "The incredible experiences I have had make me feel as though I have all the money in the world."

Hunter and Greene, a musician and professional chef, are doing their part by donating 10 percent of all sales of their illustrated cookbook, Tropical Appetites: Fine Cooking and Dining in Tanzania (www.hudsonrunpress.com), to charities in that country. Also, half the net profits of Hunter's book, Reshaping Societies, is donated to the Foundation for Hospices in sub-Saharan Africa.

Maria V. Caliri '86, M.B.A. '92, is the editor of Gilbane Bulletin, a biannual magazine published for the company's customers and friends in the construction industry.

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