One of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in 2005 to discuss HIV/AIDS in Africa
| February 21, 2006 | |
Photograph of Stephen Lewis
As part of the annual University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Narratives of HIV series, humanitarian Stephen Lewis will speak about pressing global health challenges, the glaring health disparities between industrialized and developing nations, and the public and political will that’s needed to tackle these health threats. Lewis speaks Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. at the UNC Friday Center. His address is free and open to the public. More than 3 million people die of AIDS-related illnesses each year. But the story of the epidemic is always changing, and for the third year in a row, student leaders of the Student Global Health Committee at the UNC School of Public Health have invited speakers to share a contemporary narrative of AIDS in the world as part of the Narratives of HIV series. Lewis is author of Race Against Time, a collection of his Massey Lectures given across Canada in 2005. He speaks passionately of the challenges that poor countries face in fighting AIDS, and he’s unsparing when he focuses on the wealthy world’s failures to adequately help those countries. But Lewis also uses anecdotes from his extensive travels to illustrate the successes of the global efforts. Recently Lewis created the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help ease the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa. “The passion and dedication Stephen Lewis brings to his work is truly inspirational,” said Peggy Bentley, Carolina School of Public Health Associate Dean for Global Health. “He fervently advocates taking the knowledge we gain from research and putting it into practice quickly – especially in the areas of the world where needs are the greatest and where resources are most limited. He understands the consequences at the individual, family and societal levels of delays in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS. His message is that the global AIDS epidemic is a respondibility for all of us, and I congratulate the Student Global Health Committee for their efforts in this series and in bringing Dr. Lewis to Chapel Hill. Lewis’s visit to Chapel Hill is sponsored by the UNC-CH School of Public Health’s Office of Global Health, Center for AIDS Research, Student Global Health Committee, Student Congress, Graduate and Professional Student Federation, and University Center for International Studies. Chris Ormsby, a Public Health graduate student, is the coordinator of this year’s Narratives series. “We are thrilled to have Stephen Lewis come to UNC,” he said. “For students, faculty and other community members, we felt that Mr. Lewis would be an ideal speaker to celebrate achievements, candidly discuss challenges and inspire others to join the global fight against HIV/AIDS.” Started by a group of journalism and public health students, the Narratives of HIV series seeks to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Last year, author Greg Behrman spoke about the economics of the AIDS epidemic. In 2004, filmmaker Robert Bilheimer screened his documentary, A Closer Walk, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark Schoofs talked about his AIDS reporting from Africa. The Friday Center is located at 100 Friday Center Drive, approximately three miles east of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, just off Highway 54 East (Raleigh Road). For directions, visit www.fridaycenter.unc.edu. # # # Contact: Chris Ormsby, (919) 967-8407 or ormsbyc@email.unc.edu. For further information please contact Ramona DuBose either by phone at 919-966-7467 or by e-mail at ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
