40 years of AIDS in Portugal on RTP 2

The consultancy FDC Consulting and the producer Plata o Pomo, in partnership with RTP 2, the scientific consultancy of the infectious disease specialist Francisco Antunes and the support of ViiV Healthcare, present from December 1st, a documentary series of 5 episodes about the 40 years of AIDS in Portugal.

Topics such as the Appearance of the Virus, Stigma and Discrimination; The Weight of Drugs in Portuguese Society; HIV-2 and Cooperation with the PALOP; PrEP – The Revolution in Prevention and When to Cure, will be analyzed by different stakeholders, taking into account the 40 years of HIV infection and AIDS and the changes it has brought to society in general and to the Portuguese in particular.

Doctors, public figures, leaders of non-governmental organizations, journalists and politicians review the troubled times when homosexuals were not greeted for fear of becoming infected, when children with HIV were banned from going to school, when Casal Ventoso was considered the largest open-air drug supermarket in Europe, where Professor Odette Ferreira transported tubes of blood from patients from Guinea-Bissau to the Pasteur Institute, in Paris, in a fur coat and where doctors they witnessed daily deaths of infected people without being able to reverse the situation.

For Francisco Antunes “the importance of a documentary like this is enormous, mainly due to the need to remember times that are being lost in memory and through which one can understand the evolution and innovation that transformed a deadly disease into a chronic disease, with the same hope average lifespan than uninfected people.”

Also for Marina Caldas, from FDC Consulting and responsible for the idea and implementation of this documentary “what we wanted was to bring together the protagonists who, in 4 decades, treated and helped people with HIV infection and AIDS and, at the same time, tell the story and the stories of many of them. There was a lot left to say. Perhaps we will return to the topic later.”

But the current reality is also analyzed and the situation regarding the availability of PrEP receives criticism from those directly involved in the process, particularly non-governmental organizations, who say there are one-year waiting lists in the NHS to access PrEP.

Each episode ends with an analysis by the scientific consultant, Francisco Antunes, where important scientific and social details are given for a documentary that will certainly go down in the History of HIV/AIDS.

SHOW DATES
DEBUT
December 1st, at 11pm · RTP 2
Ep. 1 - The appearance of the virus
On World AIDS Day, with the participation of actor Carlos Ferreira/Guida Scarlaty, former Minister of Health Maria de Belém Roseira, infectious disease specialist Fernando Maltez, journalist Leonor Figueiredo, activist Margarida Martins and GAT President Luís Mendão.

December 8th, at 11pm · RTP 2
Ep. 2 - The weight of drugs
With the participation of the President of SICAD João Goulão, the journalist Miguel Múrias Mauritti, the virologist Perpétua Gomes, the obstetrician Cristina Guerreiro, the President of the Portuguese League Against AIDS Maria Eugéniam Saraiva and the President of the Parish Council of S. António Vasco Morgado .

December 15th, at 11pm · RTP 2
Ep. 3 - HIV-2 and Cooperation with the PALOP
With the participation of the Guinean doctor Celestino Costa, the journalist Dulce Salzedas, the infectious disease specialist Kamal Mansinho, the President of the CHULN Board of Directors, Ana Paula Martins.

December 22nd, at 11pm · RTP 2
Ep. 4 - PrEP: The Revolution in Prevention
With the participation of infectious disease specialist Saraiva da Cunha, the President of Positivo, Amílcar Soares, the Executive Director of SER +, Andreia Pinto Ferreira and the European Marketing Director of ViiV HealthCare, Inê Roxo.

December 29th, at 11pm · RTP 2
Ep. 5 - When will the cure be due?
With the participation of the President of Abraço, Cristina Sousa, the Fado Bicha musician, João Caçador, the doctor and consultant Manuel Gonçalves and the writer Bruno Vieira Amaral.