Шаблон:Short descriptionШаблон:Infobox book28 Stories of AIDS in Africa is a 2007 non-fiction book by Canadian journalist and author Stephanie Nolen.[1] It tells 28 stories of people who have worked tackling HIV/AIDS in healthcare, as advocates, and people who have been diagnosed as HIV positive and their family members.
The book has been met with widespread critical acclaim from academics, humanitarians, and book reviewers.
In 2003, Nolen, an award-winning[3] Canadian journalist, persuaded her superiors at The Globe and Mail to let her investigate and report on the AIDS pandemic in Africa.[4] She relocated to Johannesburg where she spent four years researching every aspect of the pandemic.[4]
The book profiles 28 Africans who have HIV/AIDS, who have worked in healthcare or advocacy, or have otherwise been affected by the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, noting that 70% of global HIV cases are in sub-Saharan Africa.[5]
The book opens with background material about the work of Nolen, an explanation of HIV/AIDS in lay terms, and notes that 28 stories have been chosen because 28 million people had been infected with HIV/AIDS.[5][4]
Each of the 28 stories opens with a photograph of the person that is the subject of the chapter.[5]
Chapter 10 Cynthia Leshomo of Botswana who worked to reduce stigma[4]
Chapter 11 Mfanimpela Thlabatse a farmer in Swaziland who lost his wife and children to HIV/AIDS just months before the treatments became available to his community[14]
Chapter 12 Andualem Ayalew an Ethiopian soldier who lost his job and who was denied the opportunity to study abroad because of his HIV status[15][16]
Chapter 28 Thokozani Mthiyane a South African who manages his HIV thanks to USAID subsidized medications[26]
The book ends with a chapter about how readers can help.[27]
Critical reception
Stephen Lewis described the book as "the best book ever written about AIDS, certainly the best I've ever read".[28]
The Guardian praised the book for focusing on the stories of people in Africa, rather than USA, and also credited Nolen for linking the stories to culture, society and politics.[1]
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation described the book as "timely, transformative, thoroughly accessible" and described how Nolen writes with "power, understanding and simplicity."[29]
Bono called the book a "formidable book of record."[30]
Laretta Benjamin, an AIDS researcher, described the book as one of the best she has read, complimented Nolan for putting a human face on the statistics.[5]
The New Times of Rwanda described the book as probably the best written account of the history of HIV/AIDS.[4]
James Orbinski said of the book "Read. Weep. Rage. And above all else - like those people described in this book - find the courage to do."[3]
Awards
2007 PEN Canada Paul Kidd Courage Prize (awarded to Nolen for her coverage of the AIDS crisis in Africa)[2][31]
↑Pozez, Gerri. "28 Stories of AIDS in Africa."Journal of International Affairs, vol. 62, no. 2, spring-summer 2009, p. 241. Gale Academic OneFile, Accessed 18 January 2022.
↑ 19,019,1Comfort, Laura. "Will the" fight" ever end?: a critical reading of the metaphors and discourses that construct HIV/AIDS in an African context." (2009).
