Mark Vermeulen lives with HIV and sees how the virus has shifted from a medical to a human rights problem. “Medically, we have everything we need to properly test, treat and prevent infections,” he says, “but those breakthroughs are not available to everyone.” Marginalized groups, such as “the very poorest, gay men, trans people and drug users”, are now hit particularly hard by the loss of American support for the fight against HIV.
He calls Trump’s cuts to USAID cruel: “It is estimated that more than 400,000 people have already died this year.” This also puts pressure on his ambition of zero new HIV infections in the Netherlands. “Viruses do not respect national borders,” he warns. Moreover, HIV mainly affects people in their thirties and forties, the backbone of our labor market. Even from a cynical economic perspective, help from the US is necessary, he says: “An HIV infection costs about €500,000 per human life.”
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The interview can also be viewed on YouTube.
- Presentation:
- Pieter van der Wielen
- Editing and production:
- Merel van Waalwijk van Doorn
- Mixing:
- Audio chief
- Music:
- Rufus van Baardwijk
- Photo:
- NRC
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