''28 Stories of AIDS in Africa'' is a 2007 non-fiction book by Canadian journalist and author

Stephanie Nolen Stephanie Nolen (born September 3, 1971, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian journalist and writer. She is currently the Global Health Reporter for The New York Times. From 2013 to 2019, she was the Latin America bureau chief for The Globe and Mai ...

. It tells 28 stories of people who have worked tackling

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

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. It was a national best selling book in Canada.

Background

In 2003, Nolen, an award-winning Canadian journalist, persuaded her superiors at ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' to let her investigate and report on the AIDS pandemic in Africa. She relocated to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

where she spent four years researching every aspect of the pandemic.

Book summary

The book profiles 28 Africans who have

, who have worked in healthcare or advocacy, or have otherwise been affected by the pandemic in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

, noting that 70% of global HIV cases are in sub-Saharan Africa. 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. Each of the 28 stories opens with a photograph of the person that is the subject of the chapter. *Chapter 1 Siphiwe Hlophe who cares for orphans in

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

. *Chapter 2 Tigist Haile Michael, an Ethiopian school girl orphaned by AIDS *Chapter 3 Mohammed Ali a Kenyan truck driver *Chapter 4 Prisca Mhlolo from Zimbabwe who was assaulted by her own family when she told them her positive HIV status *Chapter 5 Regine Mamba, a grandmother *Chapter 6 Lydia Mungherera, a Ugandan doctor Gideon Byamugisha 1

*Chapter 7 Noé Sebisaba, a blood donor who was surprised to find himself with an HIV diagnosis *Chapter 8 Christine Amisi a

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

nurse *Chapter 9 Manuel Cossa, a migrant gold miner from

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

who worked in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

*Chapter 10 Cynthia Leshomo of Botswana who worked to reduce stigma *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 *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 *Chapter 13 Alice Kadzanja, a nurse in Zomba *Chapter 14

Zackie Achmat Abdurrazack "Zackie" Achmat (born 21 March 1962) is a South African activist and film director. He is a co-founder the Treatment Action Campaign and known worldwide for his activism on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. ...

the famous South African HIV activist *Chapter 15 Lefa Khoele from Lesotho who struggled with HIV until he was given medication at age 12 *Chapter 16 Pontiano Kaleebu a Ugandan doctor working on an HIV/AIDS vaccine *Chapter 17 Winstone Zulu the AIDS activist *Chapter 18 Agnes Munyiva a Kenyan sex workers who avoided AIDS despite over 2,000 sexual encountersComfort, Laura. "Will the" fight" ever end?: a critical reading of the metaphors and discourses that construct HIV/AIDS in an African context." (2009). *Chapter 19 Mpho Segomela a South African child who died of AIDS *Chapter 20 Anne Mumbi, a sex worker who avoided AIDS despite the odds *Chapter 21 Gideon Byamugisha the Ugandan priest who speaks about the good things he has done, and his failings *Chapter 22 Ida Mukuka an AIDS counselor from

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

*Chapter 23 Anita Manhiça a

housewife who was infected by her husband, but who was accused of infecting him *Chapter 24 Morolake Odetoyinbo who is struggling to live with the virus in Nigeria *Chapter 25 Moleen Mudimu who stopped being able to afford the medicine that help keep her alive once the Zimbabwean economy collapsed *Chapter 26 Ibrahim Umoru a Nigerian activist *Chapter 27

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

whose son died of AIDS *Chapter 28 Thokozani Mthiyane a South African who manages his HIV thanks to USAID subsidized medications The book ends with a chapter about how readers can help.

Critical reception

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s and was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democr ...

described the book as "the best book ever written about AIDS, certainly the best I've ever read".

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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. The

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

described the book as "timely, transformative, thoroughly accessible" and described how Nolen writes with "power, understanding and simplicity."

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

called the book a "formidable book of record." 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. The New Times of Rwanda described the book as probably the best written account of the history of HIV/AIDS. 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."

Awards

* 2007 PEN Canada Paul Kidd Courage Prize (awarded to Nolen for her coverage of the AIDS crisis in Africa) * 2007 Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction, shortlisted

Editions

The book has been published in seven languages in eleven countries, including: *Hardcover, Random House, 2007, . *Hardcover, Knopf Canada, 2007, .

Notes

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.stephanienolen.com/work/28-stories 2007 non-fiction books HIV/AIDS in Africa Canadian non-fiction books HIV/AIDS in literature Books about Africa Books about health Books about South Africa History books about HIV/AIDS Knopf Canada books