Stephen Lewis: “The End of AIDS: Reality or Hyperbole?” | Fall 2014 Wall Exchange

The world of infectious diseases is filled with the cries of “The End of AIDS” or an “AIDS-Free Generation.” In the fall 2014 Wall Exchange, moderated by The Globe and Mail’s André Picard, Stephen Lewis explores the implications of these phrases. Are we really that close to the end of the pandemic? If so, how will it be achieved? What is happening on the ground? Have the enthusiastic exhortations lulled the donor community into a false sense of expectation? Is that why the world failed so abjectly in the most recent Global Fund replenishment? Could it be that UNAIDS and the Global Fund and PEPFAR have embraced a cheerleading mentality rather than a more serious assessment of realities? Or are the dissenters profoundly off-base?