Walking into the media center at the 2010 World AIDS Conference was like being barraged. I came out of lectures to have people read my tag as media and then offer a plethora of business cards. Attend our press conference. Highlight us. Be in the know. Do good. OK. I will. The sense of being overwhelmed came from the fact that what everyone presented showed exactly how deep our world's public health crisis already is in terms of HIV/AIDS as well as related diseases, but also how much worse it could become if funding is less than needed due to the economic crisis.Paul Farmer has worked in wide-ranging capacities for vulnerable communities the entire length of his career. His book Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor was a guide in my travels through South Africa pre- and post-Comrades and during the World Cup 2010. Thus, when I saw his name on a press release in Vienna, I decided to trust his voice about what the worlds’ needs are at a conference concentrating on health and human rights, before they may be fully acknowledged or funded.
