Travel to Addis Ababa showed me the shocking reality of HIV

In 2004, my husband and I as well as another couple found ourselves with 12 hours in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  We were flying Ethiopian Airlines from Dar es Salaam to Frankfurt with this long stopover in between.  The airline provided a hotel room for us at the Hilton in downtown Addis, as well as 2 meals included at the hotel for the day which we thought was incredibly generous!  We were shuttled from the airport to the hotel on a large bus and there were two elderly gentlemen sitting behind us.  They were very distinguished looking men, of African descent speaking English with what sounded to me like British accents.  One reminded me of the actor, Sidney Poitier.  During the 15 minute ride to our hotel, I admit that I eavesdropped  on their conversation.  It went something like this (names of course are not the actual names used):

Gentleman #1: ” I saw poor Mrs. Smith last week.  She just lost her son last month.  He was going to school and planning to be a doctor. ”

Gentleman #2: ” Oh I’m sorry to hear that.  I was talking to Mr. Johnson.  He’s lost his daughter, a niece and two nephews in the last 6 months and his grandson is not doing to well.  He was getting along pretty well though. ( pause )  There’s a new community hall being built I hear. ”

Gentleman #1: ” Well isn’t that wonderful.  They’ll be able to use that.  How’s Mr. Wood doing, I haven’t heard from him in ages?”

Gentleman #2:  ” Not too bad.  They have 5 grandchildren that they are taking care of now.  Both of his daughters are gone but his son is still around to help out.”

The conversation continued like this for the rest of the ride to the hotel.  The cause of death of so many young people was never mentioned, nor did they seem shocked to hear the news of each of these families.  I don’t know what country they were traveling from, but I can only assume that it was one in Sub-Saharan Africa and that the loss of so many young lives was due to HIV/AIDS.  It was sobering to hear the number of people that these men knew that were impacted by the disease.  I’ve heard many horrifying statistics* about the prevalence of HIV in countries around the world however, this real life example put in perspective the impact this would have on individuals, families, societies, the workforce and the future.  There are countries that as of 2007  had more than 20% of their population between the ages of 15 and 49 infected with HIV.  Imagine the people you know in your life, and think about what would happen if 1 out of every 5 of those people was HIV positive with very little hope or money for treatment.  This is the reality that many are facing around the world.

Many on our flight, stayed at the Hilton for the day, but we were not going to miss out on this incredible opportunity to see a part of Ethiopia.  We set out on foot to visit the National Museum where we would visit with Lucy, our ancestor of 3.2 million years ago.  When we arrived we also found that the museum was featuring an exhibit called “Positive Lives”  which showed the life, strength, hope and courage of people living with HIV/AIDS.   The life size photograph exhibition depicted stories of lives of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world and was probably one of the most moving museum exhibits I’ve ever experienced.   Twice in one day, I was given a glimpse into the lives of the millions affected by this epidemic.

*The horrifying statistics I referred to above as taken from www.avert.org :

Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 22 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2007 and approximately 1.9 million additional people were infected with HIV during that year. In just the past year, the AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of an estimated 1.5 million people in this region. More than eleven million children have been orphaned by AIDS.¹

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