AIDS in Latin America

by T. Frasca

Overview

In this revealing book Timothy Frasca uncovers the enormous cultural changes which have taken place throughout Latin America as a result of the disease. He brings issues such as sexuality, class, and religious beliefs into the open for the first time. Compelling interviews with activists, people with AIDS, government leaders, and church leaders-all show how the epidemic has developed. Frasca draws lessons from Latin America and the strong activist involvement that succeeded in increasing government resources to fight the disease. Tragic tales and gripping narratives are intermixed with the first set of comprehensive epidemic statistics from the continent, eagerly awaited by the World Health community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349531264
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	09/23/2005
Edition description:	1st ed. 2005
Pages:	261
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

TIMOTHY FRASCA is a noted authority on AIDS in Latin America, and the Director of the CIPRESS Foundation in Santiago, USA, dedicated to sexual health promotion. The research for this book was funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation.

Table of Contents

Introduction Peru: Testing, Testing... 'Peñalolén' Mexico: Fatal Advances Costa Rica: The Velvet Glove Guatemala: The Iron Fist 'Fame' Trinidad & Tobago: Living with People Living with HIV/AIDS 'Air Travel' Argentina: Split Perpicacity Brazil: Seductive Models 'Turnpike' Chile: Seizing Empowerment Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

'The global fight to stop the spread of HIV is at a tragic impasse. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan put it, 'the virus is always ahead of us'. Tim Frasca's extremely important book tells us why. It is written lucidly, with compassion, and hits you like a bucket of cold water, shaking you out of your stupor.' - Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations, Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling writer, and author of Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health

'AIDS in Latin America by Tim Frasca is a long awaited book for health policy makers, not only in that part of the world but everywhere. Frasca's insightful investigation of the impact of AIDS in Latin America is an important contribution to understanding and addressing future public health policies, treatment and prevention of this disease.' - Isabel Letelier, Human Rights Activist, Vice President of CIPRESS Foundation, Chile

'Tim Frasca's book on the history of AIDS in Latin America is a fascinating and critical journey exploring AIDS-related social and political response - both positive and negative - on the part of government and civil society on this continent. One gets a clear and moving picture of what AIDS can do to people and what people can do in response.' - Frans Mom, Senior Policy Officer, Human Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos), The Netherlands

'In an age of knee-jerk, pre-packaged analysis from all sides of the political spectrum, it is refreshing to read such a nuanced, challenging account that lets people speak for themselves but doesn't let them off the hook.' - Marc Cooper, The Nation

'Tim Frasca, both a sharp-eared reporter and a veteran of the front-line fight against AIDS in Latin America, has produced a riveting, politically sophisticated, and heartbreakingly human account of why that fight is being lost. This country-by-country account of what works, and what doesn't - filtered though Frasca's smart compassion and his visceral sympathy for the huge underclass - makes AIDS in Latin America original and important, with implications for AIDS work everywhere. We can all learn from this book.' - Doug Ireland, LA Weekly

From the Publisher

With moving human narratives and revealing interviews of AIDS victims and fellow activists and health-care workers, Frasca traces the responses to the AIDS epidemic in various Latin American and Caribbean countries. Although his book is short on statistics or formal analysis, Frasca finds remarkable progress in many places, and he credits Argentina, Brazil, and Chile for providing nearly universal access to HIV medication. At the same time, Frasca worries that past successes and the focus on access to life-prolonging drugs, however hopeful, are detracting from efforts at prevention and at tackling the broader social issues of sexual identity, reproductive health services, and public education. But this book is more than epidemiology: the recorded responses to AIDS are fascinating reflections of the widely diverse social mores and political attitudes across Latin American countries. For example, working relations between government agencies and independent civil-society organizations appear marvelously cooperative in Brazil, constructive but constrained in Chile, improving in Mexico, and often hostile in Guatemala. Although not Frasca's central focus, international donors generally draw approval for providing essential funds, promoting alliances among nongovernmental organizations, and disseminating information on best practices.

Foreign Affairs