Fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa

The African continent is still struggling with the spread of HIV/AIDS. If you would like to read more about this tragic disease and some of the things being done to educate and empower people to fight its spread, then please read on. While the subject can be a bit overwhelming, and even depressing, there are books that offer hope and show us ways we too can get involved or be inspired to help stop this disease.

Warrior princess: fighting for life with courage and hope by Princess Kasune Zulu. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2009. Library shelf location: 921 Zulu

This is more than just a biography about the spiritual journey of an HIV-positive woman from Zambia. While her life story is both heartbreaking and triumphant, this book is a passionate plea for understanding and a call to the people of the world to take a stand against poverty, which the author believes is the main force behind the spread of the disease.

28: stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen. New York: Walker & Co., 2007. Library shelf location: 614.5993 NOL

The author traveled across the African continent and here tells the stories of 28 people affected by the virus. Each of the 28 people stands for 1 million people in Africa, since the AIDS organization, UNAIDS, estimates that 28 million people in Africa are infected with the HIV virus. This book puts human faces and stories to the enormity of the virus on the African continent.

The invisible cure: why we are losing the fight against AIDS in Africa by Helen Epstein. New York: Picador, 2008. Library shelf location: 616.9792 EPS

The author is a molecular biologist and health expert who has worked on a vaccine for AIDS. She has conducted much of her research in Uganda. This is a well-written account of what she learned about HIV/AIDS, both medically and socially, as it pertains to the people of Uganda. She shares what we could have done differently in our fight of the disease and how we might be able to slow its spread.

Take your best shot: do something bigger than yourself by Austin Gutwein. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009. Library shelf location: 261.8321 GUT

This is a Christian-themed young adult book about how a nine year old boy felt inspired to reach out and make a difference in the lives of Africa's AIDS orphans. With a strong faith in God and some help from his parents, he started a program named "Hoops for Hope" to support AIDS orphans, and this is the story.