Visiting AIDS patients in South Africa

Michelle Collins flew to South Africa to see for herself how hard life is for those people who are seriously ill but who can't afford essential medicines.

Michelle holds a baby infected by AIDS Photo: Phil Spence/Oxfam

Michelle visited a clinic in Soweto, Johannesburg, where she met people who have AIDS. Among them was 10-year-old Jabu. Her mother died from AIDS and sadly, since the trip, Jabu has died too. If only Jabu had received the medical treatment that could have helped her she might still be alive now.

The high price of medicines are set by the big pharmaceutical companies who make them. Hospitals in South Africa and other poor countries are unable to afford them to treat their patients. This means that many people die or suffer unecessarily.

"Meeting Jabu and the other children with AIDS made the whole thing suddenly very clear," says Michelle. "People's profits are coming before people's lives."

Oxfam wants to change this and make life better for poor people.

They launched the Cut the Cost campaign which challenged the big pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of medicines so people in the poorest countries can afford them.

The stars who support Oxfam