Remember Nikosi

Close your eyes for a moment. Picture a boy living the suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa. Now add this to your image: he was born with HIV, abandoned at the age of two by his birth mother, lived with the disease for 12 years, and yesterday when he passed away weighed only 22 pounds.

His name was Nkosi Johnson and he is one of the greatest fighter of AIDS South Africa and the world has ever seen.

I had already prepared my column for this week about the Colin Powell’s proposed agendas after his visit through Africa. But this morning, as I proofread the article one last time and added the finishing touches, the news of Nkosi’s death hit the Internet. Even though only a few weeks ago I wrote about the AIDS epidemic and its travel through the South African community, I immediately pushed the Powell article to the side, and sat down to spread the word about the life of Nkosi.

Today, 4 million of the 40 million that live in South Africa have the virus. Within the next decade, it is infect an additional 7 million more. But without the efforts of Nkosi, that number could be much, much larger.

His message, as well as his methods, were simple. Safe-sex was the way to prevent, anti-AIDS drugs were the way to stop the disease from spreading. Last year, at the biggest AIDS conference in the world, Nkosi stepped up and let his tiny voice be heard by millions. Yet, not everyone agreed with his statements.

President Thabo Mbeki, the successor to Nelson Mandela, while speaking at the same event questioned the link between HIV and AIDS, while at the same time questioning the effectiveness and safety of the drugs that Nkosi advocated. He choose to blame poverty for the spread of the disease, instead of acting as a strong leader and searching for answers. On that day, Nikosi was the true President of South Africa. (For more info on the issue of AIDS drugs, see AIDS in Africa)

So how exactly can such a little and sickly boy have worked so hard to save others from the disease that would eventually take his life? AIDS may have affected his body, damaged his brain (he has been in and out of comas since January), and today taken his life, but it never once altered his heart. He cared about people and he cared about is country. It’s as simple as that.

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