The following is excerpted from a longer piece by Mannasseh Phiri originally appearing in Zambia’s Sunday Post. Phiri is a long-time HIV prevention practitioner and advocate.
If you have ever heard me make a presentation on HIV and AIDS in Zambia in the last 10 years, you will know that I always start with a picture of a magnificent specimen of a bull elephant standing in its majesty on the banks of the mighty Zambezi. As I show the picture I tell the story of how the African elephant in many ways behaves like HIV—quietly consuming a huge amount of resources.