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This week on NOW:
NOW's David Brancaccio takes on the latest news about global health
issues in a long-form interview with former President Jimmy Carter, who
has worked tirelessly on behalf of those in the world afflicted with
disease--isolated, forgotten, and ignored. Carter just returned from
Ethiopia in his fight against trachoma, a painful and debilitating
disease that causes blindness. "It's very difficult for the American
people to believe that our government, one of the richest on earth, is
also one of the stingiest on earth," he says
In "Global Health: America's Response," NOW examines the U.S.'s HIV/AIDS
policy from its beginning in the early 1980s through President Bush's
historic plan, announced in 2003, to spend $15 billion to treat people
with HIV/AIDS around the world. The one-hour documentary takes viewers
on the ground in Uganda to examine how that country's successful three
pronged approach, which has become known as ABC: "Abstinence," "Be
faithful," and "Condom use," has sparked controversy among both American
and Ugandan groups which don't believe condoms are effective in reducing
HIV prevalence and that they contribute to promiscuity. Buoyed by the
fact that a large portion of U.S. money in President Bush's plan is set
aside for teaching abstinence, these groups promote so-called
"abstinence-only" programs, which downplay or ignore the importance of
condoms in HIV prevention. NOW assesses Uganda's success and looks at
the credibility of arguments for and against teaching "abstinence-only."
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