"My Drug Problem"

It is the unfortunate truth that the necessary medication is not available to all who need it. Many barriers stop these people from getting the medication that may save their lives or improve the quality of life significantly. One of the most prominent barriers is the research on the disease and awareness of treatments. In How To Survive a Plague, for example, the people with aids had an extremely hard time getting medication because there was little research done, and the research that had been done was taking over 7 years to be published and approved. Another significant barrier is the cost of the medications or treatments. Not everyone has great insurance that covers all or most costs of treatment for life-threatening diseases. However, this barrier creates an even larger issue: should people who cannot afford medication or treatment be given it anyway? Who decides this? In my opinion, it is impossible to give treatment to everyone who cannot afford it. I wish it was, but it is not. It is ultimately up to the government to decide this, and we all know with the recent election, it is likely that there will be little to no effort in helping those who cannot afford necessary things in life. It is clear that a change must be made so that those who do not have the finances can still save their lives, but what that change will be is the hard part.

How to Survive a Plague

The activists pushing for aids research and treatment used a vast amount of tactics to get to the people in charge. Some were effective, and some were not. For an effective protest, certain things are necessary. Having a large group of people is always beneficial because the more people involved, the more significant the government (or the group being protested) sees the issue. Having a phrase or slogan to repeat is also effective because the people will hear it over and over again, and eventually it will be stuck in their own heads. People use protests because it is the most upfront way of showing that you believe a change needs to be made. It is much more personal and unavoidable than a strongly worded, hand written letter. The aids activists used the most beneficial way to get what the wanted and needed, and any other way would have slowed the process.