the anniversary
It has been a year since we've been in KwaZulu Natal. What have we done, and what can we do? The film continues to grow with the crucial and thoughtful feedback of our advisory board members and friends. It has been difficult to keep in touch, never being sure if the mail gets through. The communication divide renders a huge portion of the world invsible, while the rest continues to carry on a one-way conversation with itself. Who does more to kill the AIDS epidemic, the 'Condom King' in Thailand who has personally reached out to every prostitute in Bangkok, or a celebrity brandishing a diamond encrusted red ribbon? The latter raises awareness and money, but does that money go where you imagine it does?
I recently read the Vanity Fair 'Africa' issue: celebritylicious, but some interesting info (and a funny piece by Chris Rock on going to SA).
I liked the piece on Jeff Sachs; here's what I picked up from it:
• On aid: according to Sachs, the billions going into aid haven't yielded any formidable progress out of poverty because it isn't enough to make any, when scattered thinly to the numerous outlets that receive it (Something one experiences on a smaller scale when budgeting for a documentary film...). Billions of dollars is certainly beyond my imagination, but in terms of GNP, it isn't much:
• Last year, the US put $499 billion into the military, and 22.7 billion into foreign aid. While in dollars, that is the largest amount of money given to aid, it is only 0.17% of the US budget. Great Britain and France give 0.52% and 0.47% of their GNPs. Sachs believes that if every rich nation gives 1%, or double the total of what is given now, true change can occur. He argues: that amount is cheaper than mass migration, cheaper than war, cheaper than food aid.
• Total annual spending on health care in Sub-Saharan Africa: $20
in the US: $6,000 (and for WHAT??)
There is also a piece on the transformative powers of ARVs, called 'The Lazarus Effect'. Only 28% in need of ARVs are getting them. Finally, an article by Bill Clinton, the first US president to visit South Africa, in 1998(!), remembers what Mandela told him, something he was thinking about his captors when he was released:
"I don't hate them. If I continued to hate them, they would still have me. I wanted to be free."
I recently read the Vanity Fair 'Africa' issue: celebritylicious, but some interesting info (and a funny piece by Chris Rock on going to SA).
I liked the piece on Jeff Sachs; here's what I picked up from it:
• On aid: according to Sachs, the billions going into aid haven't yielded any formidable progress out of poverty because it isn't enough to make any, when scattered thinly to the numerous outlets that receive it (Something one experiences on a smaller scale when budgeting for a documentary film...). Billions of dollars is certainly beyond my imagination, but in terms of GNP, it isn't much:
• Last year, the US put $499 billion into the military, and 22.7 billion into foreign aid. While in dollars, that is the largest amount of money given to aid, it is only 0.17% of the US budget. Great Britain and France give 0.52% and 0.47% of their GNPs. Sachs believes that if every rich nation gives 1%, or double the total of what is given now, true change can occur. He argues: that amount is cheaper than mass migration, cheaper than war, cheaper than food aid.
• Total annual spending on health care in Sub-Saharan Africa: $20
in the US: $6,000 (and for WHAT??)
There is also a piece on the transformative powers of ARVs, called 'The Lazarus Effect'. Only 28% in need of ARVs are getting them. Finally, an article by Bill Clinton, the first US president to visit South Africa, in 1998(!), remembers what Mandela told him, something he was thinking about his captors when he was released:
"I don't hate them. If I continued to hate them, they would still have me. I wanted to be free."
posted by esy casey at 11:58 AM
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