hello, and welcome to witness history, with me, pumza fihlani, here in johannesburg. this time, we ll be getting first hand accounts from five important moments in the history of healthcare. coming up how, in the 19705, chinese scientists used an ancient herbal remedy to find a cure for malaria. the german psychiatrist who first identified alzheimer s disease. and pakistan s angel of mercy, abdul sattar edhi, whose charity provides healthcare to millions. but we start here in south africa, where, in the late 1990s, cases of hiv and aids soared. by 1998, almost 3 million south africans were infected, and aids was the leading cause of death in the country. yet, antiretroviral drugs were too expensive for all but the richest south africans. activists began a long campaign for the right to import and use cheaper versions of the vital drugs. building coffins is a quiet ritual here. aids kills like clockwork in this area. it is a production line of death. from, really, the mid 19
as an excuse to build new coal mines. he was speaking at a un climate change summit where delegates are seeking ways of changing climate change emissions. now on bbc news, it is time for witness history. hello, and welcome to witness history, with me, pumza fihlani, here in johannesburg. this time, we ll be getting first hand accounts from five important moments in the history of healthcare. coming up how, in the 1970s, chinese scientists used an ancient herbal remedy to find a cure for malaria. the german psychiatrist who first identified alzheimer s disease. and pakistan s angel of mercy, abdul sattar edhi, whose charity provides healthcare to millions. but we start here in south africa, where, in the late 1990s, cases of hiv and aids soared. by 1998, almost 3 million south africans were infected, and aids was the leading cause of death in the country. yet, antiretroviral drugs were too expensive for all but the richest south africans. activists began a long campaign for
hello, and welcome to witness history, with me, pumza fihlani, here in johannesburg. this time, we ll be getting first hand accounts from five important moments in the history of healthcare. coming up how, in the 1970s, chinese scientists used an ancient herbal remedy to find a cure for malaria. the german psychiatrist who first identified alzheimer s disease. and pakistan s angel of mercy, abdul sattar edhi, whose charity provides healthcare to millions. but we start here in south africa, where, in the late 1990s, cases of hiv and aids soared. by 1998, almost 3 million south africans were infected, and aids was the leading cause of death in the country. yet, antiretroviral drugs were too expensive for all but the richest south africans. activists began a long campaign for the right to import and use cheaper versions of the vital drugs. building coffins is a quiet ritual here. aids kills like clockwork in this area. it is a production line of death. from, really, the mid 19
activists began a long campaign for the right to import and use cheaper versions of the vital drugs. building coffins is a quiet ritual here. aids kills like clockwork in this area. it is a production line of death. from, really, the mid 1990s, hiv in south africa exploded. at one point, about 1,000 hiv related deaths every single day, so it was a catastrophe, it really was. azt retrovir was the first drug to work against aids. really, in the middle of the 1990s, a class of medicines become available which could stop people dying of aids. we saw what they were doing in other countries in the world, but they were too expensive, so they held out this hope, but this hope was something that we could not reach and the deaths continued. so in 1997, the government amended a law, and the aim of this amendment was to give
and pakistan s angel of mercy, abdul sattar edhi, whose charity provides healthcare to millions. but we start here in south africa, where, in the late 1990s, cases of hiv and aids soared. by 1998, almost 3 million south africans were infected, and aids was the leading cause of death in the country. yet, antiretroviral drugs were too expensive for all but the richest south africans. activists began a long campaign for the right to import and use cheaper versions of the vital drugs. building coffins is a quiet ritual here. aids kills like clockwork in this area. it is a production line of death. from, really, the mid 1990s, hiv in south africa exploded. at one point, about 1,000 hiv related deaths every single day, so it was a catastrophe, it really was. azt retrovir was the first drug to work against aids. really, in the middle of the 1990s, a class